Saved by Scrabble

This may sound odd, but this weekend our Scrabble set – dusty from years of dormancy – served not only to connect letters into words, but also to reconnect Jon and me.

Over the last six weeks, the stress of negotiating several transitions (Jon and my new work commitments and Laurel’s preschool room) was taking its toll. Initial school separation anxiety aside, Laurel seemed happy, but Jon and I were distracted, edgy, and not well connected. And conversations with several mama friends made it clear that I was not alone in feeling depressed that our lives seemed mired in logistics management.

On Friday night, the preoccupied haze persisted until about 11:30pm, at which point I was overcome by the desire to play Scrabble, and luckily Jon agreed to join in. Play wasn’t bound by points or rules (i.e., unusual word strings were encouraged) and it ended up being just the sort of nonsensical, goofy spontaneity we needed. The ensuing laughs and conversation left us feeling unbelievably lighthearted and connected.

Given that our poor date night track record sometimes can add a sense of pressure to have the Best Time Ever when we do go out, it was refreshing to see how reconnection can happen in small ways. Even though late night Scrabble left us hazy from lack of sleep the next day, at least we were happy and hazy.

Note: We have the Scrabble Deluxe Edition, which features a rotating platform and raised grid to hold letter tiles in place. We really like these features – especially because Laurel is now having a fabulous time looking for and arranging letters on the board - but traditionalists may prefer the Classic Edition.