Our Everyday Routine

 Our Everyday Routine

 

Every morning, Susan and I share a simple, comforting routine that has become one of my favorite parts of the day: breakfast and game time. It’s a moment of connection, a little friendly competition, and the perfect way to ease into the day. Now that we’re both retired, we have more time to enjoy these mornings together, and it’s a routine I wouldn’t trade for anything. Breakfast isn’t just a meal anymore—it’s our time to connect and have a bit of fun before the rest of the world wakes up.

Our games of choice usually rotate between UpWords and Tri-Ominos. UpWords is similar to Scrabble, but with a fun twist—you can stack letters up to five tiles high, building words in layers. It requires more strategy than you might expect, and Susan, who’s got a mind like a puzzle master, wins far more often than I do. But I love it just the same. There’s something satisfying about watching her come up with the perfect word, stacking her tiles until I know I’m beat. Her victories never seem to bother me; in fact, I look forward to the little celebrations when she outplays me yet again.

Tri-Ominos is another favorite. It’s a tile game where you have to match numbers on triangular pieces, and while it’s less about vocabulary than UpWords, it still requires a good amount of planning and luck. Somehow, Susan manages to pull off wins in this one too. I’ve come to accept that she’s got a knack for these things, though I still hold out hope for my occasional victory.

When we’re in a bit more of a rush—which is rare now that we’ve retired—we switch to quicker games like Backgammon or Sequence. Backgammon is a classic, with the satisfying clatter of dice and strategic moves that, once again, Susan seems to have mastered better than I have. But even when I’m losing, I can’t help but enjoy the routine. Sequence keeps things interesting too—it’s a mix of luck and strategy, and every once in a while, I manage to get the upper hand. Those wins feel like small triumphs, even if they’re fewer and farther between.

We also have a couple of games that we play less frequently, like Scrabble or Mille Bornes. While Scrabble is the timeless word game, it’s hard to go back to it after playing UpWords so often. And Mille Bornes, the quirky French card game where we race to 1,000 kilometers, brings a bit of chaos to the table, but it’s not quite the same as our usual morning fare.

What I love most about this routine is that it’s not about who wins or loses—though Susan winning all the time does add a bit of fun to the mix. It’s about sharing those quiet moments together, over breakfast and a game, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It’s the perfect way to start the day, and even on the mornings when I’m not the victor, I always feel like I’ve won just by having this time with her.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A memory about pets (Published Sept 13, 2021)

 The first pet I was aware of was my parents dog Taffy, a Chihuahua. Taffy died when I was around six and my mom almost immediately went to the pound and got a dog named Jinxy, I'm not sure why the name and if we named her or if she came with that name. Jinxy was a white, with some brown, Fox Terrier mix. She was a great dog but had two problems. The first is that she always urinated when anyone pet her. And when the door bell rang and she ran to the door excited, there was always an accident including urinating on several guests shoes. Because of this, Jinxy was confined to the service porch with our washer and dryer or the backyard. This leads to the second issue - She loved breaking out of the yard and run (sort of like Almas). Not to long after we got Jinxy, my parents did get another Chihuahua, which they named Chico. Jinxy was "my dog" while Chico was my parents. The dogs got along well and I've got cute pictures of them laying together. However, Chico always ha...
Read more

THE PACKAGE

  THE PACKAGE One day this package just arrived on our doorstep.  It did not look like the customary Amazon package we get at our door many days each month.   It had no return address, and my name was typed on an address label with no logo.  There was no postage on the wrapping and no indication that it was from FedEx, UPS, or any of the other courier services.  Perhaps a neighbor dropped off a gift, but why then the formal typed label?    The package was rather large and rather heavy.  There was no noise from shaking it so it was wrapped rather tightly.  There clearly was a box inside the wrapping.  My first inclination was to open it immediately but then I decided to wait for Susan in case she knew what it was or ordered it.  Perhaps she had ordered it specifically for me or for some occasion?   Susan arrived back from the market.  She had no idea what it was.  She had not ordered anything. Susan laughed a...
Read more

Letter from mom (first published 2/1/21)

 Dear Gary: This is your mom here. Oy Vay, stop that ridiculous story about the stuttering and that it started with you talking to me on the phone. That never happened. I remember that picture and it was posed by a picture studio when we bought a package from them after I was home from the sanitarium. They allowed you to come to visit me at the sanitarium one time before I was released. As I recall, you did not stammer more or less that day. By then,I was already aware that you talked very fast and very loud. There was nothing different or unusual about that day. I was just so very happy to see you that it really did not make a difference. Perhaps someone asked you to quiet down. You were bouncing off the walls as I recall. You stuttered long before I went off to the City of Hope. You started stammering when you were two years old and first starting talking, always a mile a minute. Boy, could you talk. That stammering never slowed you down. I did not even think of it as stuttering ...
Read more