My Husband "Subvet" says that when our first son "Sonshine" was born the sun rose on our world, when our second son "Gator" was born the sun laughed and when our daughter "Sugars" was born all the flowers bloomed. That says it all.

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain."
Anonymous

Your mind is the garden, your
thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or weeds. — William
Wordsworth

Friday, November 9, 2007

Alphabet Soup (D)

Well, as I look back over and re-read my posts (anyone else do that?) I see that I'm falling behind in my commitment here. So, I'm going to try and catch up a bit before I toddle (or is it waddle?) off to bed.

D
Dominoes
. I have been trying off and on for about a year now to buy a set of dominoes for the boys. Why is it taking so long? Because I'm picky. I want a regulation set of black dot, white, double 6 dominoes. And if I can find the red and black abacuses I'll get them too....but I'm having so much trouble finding the dominoes that I've put the scorekeepers on hold.

I was at Walmart yesterday getting all the Christmas shopping done. They had double 9s and double 12s (did you know they made double 15s?? I didn't!) both were color-coded. I asked a lady to see if there were any double 6s in the back. I'll even take the colorful ones at this point. Her computer says there are 10 "around somewhere" but she couldn't find them in the back. She says that there are pallets stacked to high to see back there as they prepare for Christmas. That may be true...but having holes on the shelves while some sit in a pallet in the back would have made Ol Sam cry. And when I worked in the Walmart Pharmacy from 93-97 would have gotten someone written up.

Anyway, back to my story about Dominoes. Have you asked yourself WHY am I so picky?? Well, it has to do with childhood memories. My Grandma and Grandpa lived about 8 hours away. Every Thanksgiving the entire family would get together at Grandma's house. Every year the "men-folk" (well, mostly) would get a domino game or two going. I learned to play Dominoes standing at the kitchen table between Grandpa and my Dad...asking a gajillion questions. Grandpa was a gruff customer. A loud man who lived and worked outside all his life. His hands were large and rough from all the ropes and reins he'd handled. He was 70 when I was born and he had Parkinson's. I have very few memories of him before the disease became pronounced. But one of the memories I do have is of he and Dad teaching me Dominoes. That broad shouldered, loud talking, strong man took me on his knee and patiently answered every question I had. Even when it was his turn to play.... It wasn't till Sonshine started yakking non-stop that I've realized how "lovely" it is to have a kid with a speech impediment (yes, I had one too) talking 90 to nothing while you're trying to concentrate on something else and you have to stop and focus to figure out what the child wants. But Grandpa did. He'd even let me shuffle for him.

I want to pass the game of Dominoes on to my kids. Dominoes mind you, not 42, not Hen's Teeth or any of the other games played with dominoes. And I'd like to teach them to use a counter to keep score too, black and red, just like Grandpa's. Now, my kids are a long way from being able to count by 5s. BUT there are a ton of things you can do with a set of Dominoes. Starting with counting the dots. Which is why I specifically want black dots. I don't want them to memorize the color, but the dot pattern the corresponds to each number.

Well, I will continue my quest for nostalgic Dominoes. In the meantime I got them a deck of alphabet cards to play go-fish :-)

6 comments:

Diane@Diane's Place said...

I love to play dominoes, either double sixes or double twelves. Straight dominoes, mind you, not Mexican Train or any of the variations.

Mama, me and the sisters played a lot of dominoes in the 2 years before Mama died. Lots of memories there, and when Mama died, we just kind of laid the dominoes down.

I don't think we've played a game of dominoes in the 2 ½ years since she died. We just don't really have the heart for it yet, I guess....

MightyMom said...

ahh friend, I do understand. But as the healing comes, the game can be enjoyed again, enriched with memories.

Linda said...

I used to play Dominos with the ex-husband a lot and haven't played since. Actually, we played a lot of Scrabble and Cribbage, too, and it's one of the things I miss about him (though, sadly, not much else). Thank you for bringing back a good memory or two from my marriage - those tend to get shuffled into the back and forgotten about completely and that's a sad, sad thing.

As for Wal-Mart, I was a Department Manager there back in 1993 I think it was and it just amazes me how much it has changed since Sam died. Sure, it's become this huge mega-mega chain of stores but it's missing a lot of what made it the store it was in the first place. I don't think Sam would be any too happy about it.

Stephanie D said...

Well, I'm deprived, I guess. I never learned to play any kind of dominoes. But did you check eBay?

Pen of Jen said...

I love dominoes and what a great reason. I too have childhood memories of game playing and being taught when I am sure I *fast talked* a zillion questions!!

The one thing I have learned with having a child with extra special needs is this...game playing is a bridge. At first parallel play, then playing with the dominoes or the game pieces alone, and finally victory of sitting and playing a game with the family.

It is so amazing to me to realize that playing games has a way to break in and connect...

So war and peace may be back? But thanks for the great memory shared and the great 'D'
Jen

Anonymous said...

Good idea! We have at least three sets, and they all have at least one missing. Ah, kids!