As we leave year-2 of COVID, it is important to start thinking about our new normal. Rather than focus on what used to be, I tried my best to unlock new, possibly altered, but still exciting positives in my life.
A lot of my favorite times and memories in life are when my family, friends and I are around a big table or sprawled out in the middle of the living room playing games together. The guaranteed laughter combined with the constant pinch of competitiveness never fails for a good time and always leaves me with a smile on my face.
In recognizing the positivity that these activities bring to my life, my family and I decided to take advantage of this in 2021. Not only in those times when games are expected – birthday parties, Christmas, etc. – but in a planned, intentional effort to create more of these times.
In 2021, my mom, grandma, and grandpa set a monthly game day. Every first Monday of the month, we would meet at my grandparent’s house and get out “the book”. “The book” is our source of truth for wins vs losses throughout the year. Now, with these three individuals being a main source of my competitiveness, it is always fun looking back and strongly discussing past games and the “could haves, should haves” but mostly it is something that we can all look at together and remember fun times together.
I used my positivity bonus to purchase “the book” and a few new games for us to try. I also took the chance to bring dinner and snacks to some of our Monday game nights – that is, when my grandma would allow me to (she loves pizza, but she likes cooking and hosting for others more).
As simple as this year’s bonus spending was, it was my favorite yet. The joy from our now regular Monday nights have kept me positive and grateful not only in 2021, but for years to come.
