Solitaire

During the past holiday season I purchased a Kindle Fire to replace our five year old, cracked and broken Kindle. While our family has strict limits on 'Electronics', having a tablet for kids movies and games is almost a requirement for long car rides and airplane travel. It's a ticket to sanity on those voyages. The Kindle also provides that much needed time for the rare at home phone call or peace in the kitchen when on occasion the girls are too tired or fussy to give me the space I need to get things done.

Months after the Kindle arrived, I noticed an electronic version of Solitaire. I used to love Solitaire when I was a kid and so I decided to give the modern version a shot (this would be the first time I played an electronic game!) It was almost as satisfying as the old school version (a real deck of cards) that I used to play for hours as a kid; It was engaging enough that every now and again when I found myself too tired to read before bed, I would play a game.

Soon enough, Ms. Curiosity (aka Amara Monkey) was leaning over my shoulder asking her endless questions; ("What is this? How do you play? Why did you do that?") including a request to learn how to play. I didn't think the new, electronic tablet was the most ideal way so I grabbed a deck of cards and starting to teach her how to play.

While I was instructing Amara how the game worked, I shared with her how I was introduced to Solitaire. I told her about watching my older cousins, specifically Alaine, play game after game. I picked up watching her, mesmerized by the sound of the cards being turned over and placed down. Once I had it down I played at home and during the summer, where I carried a deck of cards with me to camp so I could get my Solitaire fix during down time. 

Amara is pretty sharp so it didn't take but a few games before she had the hang of it. Now, we are both hooked on Solitaire and despite the name, we sometimes play together. The electronic version is okay at times but the old school way, it feels more grounded, more connecting, and watching each other play has been a great deal of fun. Modern technology is pretty amazing but sometimes the old school way of doing things work just as fine or even better.