Making Memories

Trevor and I spent a good portion of this evening playing Canasta. We go in phases, usually jump started by a gathering of his family. We'll play for an afternoon, and then still have the bug the following week so we play one on one for a while.

We had his family over last Sunday for a lunch celebrating his parent's 40th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful time, and completed the day by playing Canasta. Apparently, playing cards was a favorite past time when his parents, aunts and uncles were younger. I never met his paternal grandfather, but from the stories told round the kitchen table, he was a legendary player of Canasta.

When I married into Trevor's family, I learned how to play Spades, dominoes and Canasta, among other things. There have been so many afternoons spent after lunch at his parent's table talking, laughing and playing games as the bright sunshine faded into the mellow blues and purples of twilight. The lights would be turned on, leftover's taken out between hands and the gaming would continue until our eyes were blurry and the kids were nodding off.

This is the stuff life is made of. The big events are wonderful...birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and graduations...but the most important moments are the ones that we aren't even aware we are creating. The laughing until you cry moments, the small head on your shoulder moments and the cozy evenings by the fire with your family moments. The ones that make up the very fabric of our existence, and that make us who we are.

As we were playing cards in the dining room, Gracie pulled out the dominoes in the living room. She was quietly stacking them and then putting them back in the tin, when Nathan sat down next to her. After a moment, she asked him,

Would you like to enjoy me?

Trevor and I locked eyes over our cards and stifled laughs. She asked him again, and Nathan was so confused he didn't know what to say. I finally explained to him that she was asking him if he would like to join her. Not enjoy her, because that would wrong on so many levels. How's that for a memory?