I contacted a friend of mine Friday evening. I wanted to discuss the current problems we face in healthcare. (Bitch session is more like it.) He said he'd call me the next evening. He said he would be busy this Friday night, playing Bridge. Bridge! He's my age.
I didn't think I knew anyone who played Bridge. It requires patience, intelligence, and a stable and durable attention span. I possess a modicum of at least one of those but fall far too short in the others. I'm not sure I know many people, of any age, who possess all those characteristics. (True story: I know an E.R. doc who had an ambulance admission to his ER the other day: An 18 year old brought in for anxiety, shortness of breath and severe headache... after playing Call of Duty, a video war game.)
Growing up last in a family with 8 kids my parents didn't spend a lot of time with us developing our gaming skills. Needless to say, I'm not a big card or board game guy. As it turns out, however, my 4 year old son seems to have it in mind to change that. Anywhere from 2 to 4 nights a week now we spend 30 minutes or so assembling puzzles, playing UNO, or a game of Go Fish. Incredibly, I'm enjoying it. It's not Bridge but it's a start. And I'm finding there aren't many better ways to spend time with a child; time when you can actually witness the evolution of their mind, their reasoning, their understanding of competition and fair play. Even if the little bastard is beating his Dad 3 hands out of four. I LET HIM WIN. My patience and sense of fair play are coming along nicely as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment