Early Adventures in Board Gaming, and Mom

Mother's Day yesterday just reminded me how much parents can really influence our hobbies and passions early in life. Today I am an avid board gamer, at least in part, due to my parents always holding "family fun nights" with snacks and Monopoly or Clue or jigsaw puzzles. My mom always understood the fundamental truth that board games can bridge age gaps, arguments, and can bring people together. We've played board games on holidays, we've played on road trips, and we even played board games in the hospital room when my mom had kidney stones, and later, breast cancer. Games connected us. This all came to me as I was sorting through old photos of me with my mom for a Facebook salute to the ol' bird (sorry, mom, that's not nice, I take it back). Here is one of the photos I found, and well, it just explains a lot.

My first board game, with my mom showing me the way. Early 1981.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there who like to share the simple pleasures of life and fun with their children.