Dinner and a Game

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

I read an article written by a Spanish woman who is now living in Nebraska about the difference between living in Spain and living in the United States. I was glad she lives in the middle of the country, because I thought that was more like most people live – or actually, I guess, just how I live. The thing she (and I agreed) thought was most different (and therefore most interesting) is that Americans save fun for the weekend. She felt that Americans work all week and put off fun until the weekend. It certainly seems true, although I hope people are enjoying things that they are doing during the week as well. She gave an example of ordinary life in Spain that included the common practice of meeting others for spontaneous dinners in the park – a quick text to say “I have some ham and cheese” with a response that promises to bring a salad and rolls and bam! two families are meeting at the park for dinner – as well as just the simple fact that playgrounds for children are next to coffee shops or bistros for the parents to get refreshments while the kids play. Kids are expected to play while adults visit, then they can climb into a stroller or cuddle on a lap and go to sleep while adults continue their evening. The parents are not interested in a “bedtime routine” and every night can (and should) be different.

I thought it was interesting. I think fun should happen as often as possible, so I was right on her page. I mentioned it to Keith, and he said we are already pretty good at doing things during the week. I agreed, but said it is often just us. I just assume other people don’t want to socialize during the week. I am going to try to invite people to do more things during the week.

We already have our game night with the Wickerts on weeknights. After they were both retired, we started picking weeknights because weekends were so hard to schedule. It has been wonderful! Tonight, Sue made a wonderful lasagna in the crockpot and surprised Keith with a candle in the delicious apple crumble. We played Catan for the first time. I am not very good at strategy games, but I lucked out being able to morph sheep into bricks and rocks (I guess you had to be there). Keith won at the last moment, as we ended the game a little short of points because of time. Yes, weekday nights sometimes have to end a little early, but better to have gamed and stopped than never to have gamed at all.