Grandparents & Chips Off the Old Block!
Volume: Loud cheers for Grandma & Grandpa
Issue: Special Primer Sale! Paperbacks $12, Kindles FREE
Date: September 1, 2021
"Be nice to your kids....they choose your nursing home."—Phyllis Diller
Grandparents’ Day is September 12!
One of the most fun memories Bill and I have with his/our granddaughters is the July we spent the entire month in Portland, Oregon, “babysitting” Clara and Brena, then ages 8 and 11. After swimming, skating, movies, and parks, it was fun for us Grands to teach The Girls favorite games from our own childhood, games all new to these electronic kids.
The Girls LOVED playing HOT/COLD, the hide and seek game of hiding objects inside the house and finding them with hints: “You’re cold,” “Now you’re getting warm,” and “You are sizzling hot!” It is SUPER FUN tricking The Grands!
The Girls had never played card games before so we taught them gin rummy, acey-deucy, steal the old man’s pack and blackjack. And yes, with our aging brains we had to look up the rules online. Thank you, Google!
But The Girls’ absolute fave game was POKER! I bead, so at first we used large beads as poker chips. Then we quickly graduated to pantry edibles: raisins, peanuts, and finally M&Ms. (Note: it is false advertising that “M&Ms melt in your mouth and not in your hands,” especially after 20 hands of poker!)
The Girls’ Poker Rules: three wild cards, chosen by the dealer.
The Girls’ Poker Faces: fake joy for a crummy hand, fake scowls for a full house—but jumping up and down when five-aces couldn’t be faked.
The Girls’ Strategy: trade cards with each other in a gleeful attempt to defeat The Grands.
The games became CUTTHROAT! And poker miracles happened—no one looked at cell phones for hours! Then the Girls taught their friends poker and Clara and Brena became THE POKER QUEENS OF PORTLAND!
Here’s hoping it’s in the cards for you to enjoy turning your childhood joys into joyous times with your own family!
Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!
Irene