Crazy about Cards

Crack addicts are to crack as Ellie and Ava are to ______

a. Chocolate

b. Candy

c. Coins

d. Cards

About a month and a half ago Karin and I got the idea to try and teach Ellie how to play cards.  The long term goal was to get her playing bridge so that we would be one step closer to playing more often than once a year with my dad - we really do enjoy bridge.  Anyway...  we were not sure if she was going to "get it" or not so we started with Gin Rummy (or Jenna Rummy as the kids call it).  To our surprise she picked it up really quickly and thus began the crack like addiction she has to cards.  She wanted to play ALL THE TIME.  I can't tell you how many mornings she sneaked into our room to awaken me at 7AM with barely awake eyes, morning breath, and a hoarse whisper saying "daddy! - wanna play Jenna Rummy!?"  If she goes more than about 6 hrs without playing a game, her hands start to shake and she gets cold sweats.

Well, never to be left in the dust our 4 yr old Ava has also picked up on this addiction to cards and is now a fully independent Jenna Rummy player - she can hold her own cards, she understands suits, runs, pairs, and basic Jenna Rummy strategy.  In fact she also tends to beat the rest of us - the force is strong in that one...

Then one weekend Uncle Katie and Uncle Graham came over and taught them how to play solitare and head to head solitare.  This was the best thing ever for Ellie b/c it meant during her "quiet times" in her room she no longer had to rely on those fairly reserved stuffed animals to play Jenna Rummy with --> now she could play against the deck.  Again, Ava picked right up on it and now they are often found playing head to head solitaire in the family room.

Karin and I have been talking about how cool of a little "season" this has been in our family.  We have spent so much time together sitting around playing cards - it has actually brought our family closer together which was totally unexpected and fun.  So, pull out those old bent decks of cards and play a game tonight!!!

 

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