Our family has a history of word games. Trips in the car were less monotonous when anyone yelled "Alphabet game! I see an A!" And the race was on. The song game kept us engaged for stretches on long roads too. Someone says a word and everyone hunts for lyrics that include it.
"Destiny..."
"You've Got a Friend in Me!"
"Jam..."
Pause. People rack their brains. Finally someone smiles. "Doe a deer."
One time a game I did not recognize popped up. The kids are old enough now to do their own entertaining, so I stayed quiet for awhile wondering what the rules were. Finally I asked. Zack explained.
"Two people say a word. Any word. Then you both say a different word, that is between the first two. After a few rounds, you end up saying the same word. You would be surprised how often you match in only three or four steps."
I was dubious and yet they had been playing for twenty minutes. I started to listen.
"One, two, three... tree" said Zack, simultaneously with Hope's "winter".
"One, two, three... evergreen" blurred with "pine".
"One, two, three... Christmas tree!" they shouted together.
Four more bouts of it had me convinced. Trying to meld minds is a thing.
The other day John was on a soup mission. He took all of the forgotten vegetables out of the drawers and started chopping. I skirted around him, emptying the dishwasher, then filling it with knives and cereal bowls. I brought him a few potatoes and set them beside the carrots. He moved a juice glass off of the counter and set it in the dishwasher. He held out a spoon full of soup for me to taste. It was savory.
By six o'clock dinner was ready. Zack was in his room, so it was just us and Ben. We sat down to watch an episode of our current show, bowls full of minestrone in our hands.
I guess trying to work together is a thing too.
