Family Game Night

Before our son was born, my husband and I would lie awake at night discussing our plans for our future family. We agreed with each other on most things, like me staying home with the children during those first, crucial years. My husband often amused me by his attention to detail. One night, he boldly declared, “Tuesday will be family game night!” I found this funny, as I was only just pregnant with our son and had no idea what I’d be doing with all my future Tuesday nights- why did he arbitrarily choose a day to play games? My family never did that. However, it seemed important to him, so I agreed, “Tuesday will be family game night”. How right he was.

As my pregnancy progressed, my husband started adding to our game collection. Most of the ones we had were for adults and he wanted to start his game night as soon as possible. It cracked me up to see my macho husband coming home from work at night with Candyland tucked under his arm. He bought all the classics: Life, Battleship, Monopoly, Clue. Then, he discovered eBay’s collection of more obscure games he had played as a child. Before my son was even born, our game closet was full to bursting. It wasn’t going to waste, though. One night we threw a dinner party for friends and someone spotted Life. I never knew a crowd of professional thirty-something’s could have so much fun with a children’s board game!

I have since grown to cherish the smallest moments together with my family. Before I had children, I couldn’t have imagined how hard it would be to get us all in the same room, let alone at the same table. There is much to be said for these games that I once found so frivolous. Even as a toddler, my son learned from playing with us. Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, they were educational and fun. He could practice counting, he demonstrated patience during our turn, and when we finally stopped letting him win every game, he learned good sportsmanship. I don’t know if my husband’s ever had a better idea in his life than “family game night”.

Although we have a way to go before we enter the dreaded teenage years with our children, I know that Tuesday nights will be all the more important then. Sure, we’ll have to pick some new games, but we must keep that sense of togetherness and open communication with our kids. My family didn’t have a game night. In fact, we were so busy, there were many nights as a teenager that we didn’t even eat together. I was pretty tight-lipped with my parents too, which I believe added to my already growing “teen angst”. We could have used that time together. There’s no such thing as perfect parents, but I’m really grateful for my husband’s suggestion so many years ago.