Thursday, March 1, 2012

Slice of Life #1 - Connect Four

This is part of the Slice of Life Challenge hosted by the Two Writing Teachers

Yesterday morning I found an old journal. I read through a bit of it to see what was going on in my life then. It was a four years ago when Jordan, who will be five in May, was not even a year old. I wrote about an idea for a present for his 1st birthday and I wrote, "I am a mom," as if trying to convince myself. At the same time, I was reveling in the fact. I am a mom. So simple and yet so important at the same time. 

Lately, it seems like I am so busy being a mom there is no time to doubt the fact or to stop and revel in it's awesomeness. Last night, after Danny went to bed, Jordan and I sat down to play Connect Four together. We have lots of games but we don' t play games every day. It was fun to just sit and play with him but what was even more fun was that I could really admire the little guy he has become in almost five years. 
First, he opened the box and started taking all of the red pieces out of the box. He explained, "I'll be red and you can be yellow, Mom, because yellow is your new favorite color." (My favorite color has always been pink but I've changed it to yellow recently and we have talked about this.) Then he took the pieces for the board and put them together all by himself. I told him he could go first since he was youngest but then he said he really wanted me to go first. The first game we played, I was pointing out how I was trying to get my four in a row and before he knew it I had won. When I announced that I had won and showed him my four in a row, his little eyebrows went up and he made a surprised face that said, "Wha?" It was so cute. And then we played again and again. I commented to Chad that he didn't even bat an eye that he lost, he just started the game right over. It's so important to stop and notice these things, to notice life and what's the same and what's different and to revel in life.

6 comments:

Colby Sharp said...

I love that you are playing Connect 4 with you son. It was very nice of you to let him win....oh wait, you destroyed him. JK.

Wanda Brown said...

Game playing was a very important part of our lives when our boys were home. I love reading about other parents who enjoy playing games with their kids. Your son sounds like a great little guy who will pass on his game expertise to his younger sibling:)

elsie said...

Being a mom seems to be endless at times, but now I think how quickly that special time passed with my son (he'll be 30 in a month!). You brought back memories of good times with him. Thank you.

Deb Day said...

The slice challenge is MUCH easier than Nanowrimo! I tried that in November and didn't quite make it. This challenge I can handle.

Playing games with my boys was always a fun time--we loved connect 4--

Glad you're with us. You will love the slicer community

Karen said...

Those moments with our children are ones we need to hold onto! Such a great slice of life.

maria.selke said...

They need to learn how to lose gracefully too, right?

My kids laugh because I tell them "Play to win. But win or lose, be graceful". :)