52 Weeks in Small World

Jan. 29, 2008 - Project 52, Week 4: Jan. 23-29

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."
-- George Eliot

One of the joys of my life is having my parents living next door for nearly half the year. They have their own separate apartment, which is attached to our house, and they join us for evening meals. Evening meals nearly always end in a half-hour of good conversation and often extend into tea time and a game. I grew up in a game-playing, tea-drinking family. My last two years of high school were full of wonderful evenings. My four older brothers were in college or married, and, at long last, I had my parents all to myself. Every evening we played cards or Scrabble or backgammon, just the three of us, while drinking pot after pot of tea. It's a tradition I hope to cultivate in our own family. There is something precious shared in the moments while shuffling cards or sipping berry zinger.