scribblechic

For Christmas I gave my husband a wooden chess set. It was a game he played in his youth, that our children have begun to demonstrate an interest in. The gift was an occasion to embrace my husbands sentimental nature; incorporating a piece of his childhood into our children’s. With one gift I gathered the past into the present with plans to stretch timeless games and relaxed conversation across quiet evenings in our future.

On Christmas Day, we scattered around the house after opening gifts. The chess board sat patiently, pieces guarding neatly mapped squares in patient anticipation of play. I waited for the newness of other items to fade under my children’s thorough exploration, curious to see which child would first come to the board on their own. It was my daughter.

She initially traded the crafted wooden forms for colorful Playmobil figures. Tiny, plastic, primary colored people stood sentry in perfect rows. She had staked a claim over the board, marking the space with her signature colorful, clutter. She returned later with her brother’s robotic arm and a look of determination. We moved the board and its proper pieces to the family table and began the first game. With stoic focus she juggled the rules while manipulating pieces robotically. At game’s end the board was shifted back to a side table closer to the tree to be rediscovered soon.

My husband and I, trying to carve out a quiet moment in the busyness of the day in the company of family, met across the chess board. We began casually moving pieces only to quickly engage in concentrated efforts to capture one another’s pieces. My memory of the game was crowded with cobwebs, quickly displaced by laughter. Routine conversations about school, work, health, family were traded for playful banter over the board.

The rules and boundaries of the game reminded me of unchallenged routines of everyday life. So often we lose ourselves to mindless movement, here a small change in our day created new smiles and simple shifts in conversation. Conscious intent challenging assumptions. The concentrated stillness a reprieve from thoughtless tasks. The gift of a game secondary to the gift of something shared. Capturing pieces of time.

Tagged: Chess, Family