Getting together with people, especially with those who are close, is not always easy.
Logistics. What time, where, who, and what?
Dynamics. The past, the incident, that time, and those words.
Expectations. The food, the venue, the relationships, and the activities.
Patterns. When to eat, what to do, and how you interact.
Memories. Good, bad, stressful, and past.
These various categories cause an interesting dynamic when trying to connect with others. When these categories are associated with past stressful get-togethers, the days before you see these people again can be filled with stress and pressure.
This stress and pressure can hijack the present event by overwhelming you before you even arrive.
But, what if you could shift the pattern?
What if you tried a new approach?
I am lucky to be part of a group that is experimenting with a new pattern.
Instead of crashing after a meal, we go for a walk (and talk).
Instead of huddling around the TV, we are playing fun and weird games.
Instead of large group discussions, we are making time to connect and catch up individually.
A new pattern is forming.
New memories are replacing the old.
Good Patterns. Good Memories.
It is awkward at first? Oh yeah, but totally worth it.
“Instead of huddling around the TV, we are playing fun and weird games”
Carl – Our family has found “Apples-to-Apples” and “Catch Phrase” to be great fun. Have you played these? What other games have you enjoyed?
We have been playing “spot it”, “Quirkle”, “Mexican train dominoes”, and the really weird one “Quelf” apparently we like games with the letter “Q”.