Tetris

Day 200 of 365

I can’t believe I am on Day 200. How is that possible? It seems like time has gone by so quickly. I would hope to write some fantastic post to celebrate 200 days of this blog, something that has now become a kind of ritual for me, but all of my fantastic ideas need to simmer longer. So I’m just going to write about our day today.

It rained all day. It was cold and dreary. The ducks loved it, as they do, but the chickens had a tough day. Thankfully, Ron built a kind of “winter camp” for the chickens this week, so they will have a dry place to dust bathe in the winter, and they were able to use the cover to protect them from the rain. For some reason, Rooster still stood in the rain, and I worried about him. He’s getting pretty old.

Bairre had the hardest time with the rain, which meant we had the hardest time with Bairre. He didn’t like the rain and so didn’t go outside and be wild–so he was extra wild in the house. He got into the trash, pooped on the stairs, tore up every bit of paper he could find. He somehow got our son’s mittens and tore them. I mean, he couldn’t help it. He’s a puppy and was very bored. I tried to entertain him some, but I had to grade papers. Ron also tried to entertain him but could only do so much. Boudica refused, as did our son.

We also got some new cushions for our dining room table chairs and bench. I am so excited about this because I have been wanting something handmade forever, but I do not have the skill. We finally got a set of cushions made, and Bella was terrified of them. Bella is a very interesting kitty, and I really, really struggle reading her. The most I know about her so far is that she is very sensitive and seems to be surprised about things all the time. I am not sure what’s up with that. So poor Bella had a tough day too.

Still, there was a great part of the day. It was Tetris. I do not play games very well. I hate any kind of competition, but I have loved Tetris since I was 14 years old. There was this fantastically smart and beautifully nerdy boy in my class in school. He taught me how to play chess–and he introduced me to Tetris. He had a Game Boy. I had never seen such a thing, but I remember being on the school bus headed to an academic competition, and he let me try Tetris. I didn’t want to give him his Game Boy back. I must have asked him to play Tetris about a thousand times after that. It probably drove him crazy, but he mostly let me play. I loved the puzzle–and I loved that Russian music. I read that the Tetris theme song is Russian song based on a poem about a peddler who tries to woo a woman. Isn’t that interesting? Now, it’s iconic for falling blocks. It is interesting to me that my son also loves Russian composers. Is it genetic, or do the Russians just know music?

But I digress…Tetris has my heart, and every winter, Ron and I try to make time to play Tetris together. We started about four years ago, and it has become a part of my winter Hygge. I also read an article this year that playing Tetris is good for your brain. I am forever interested in trying to help my poor brain. And I love hearing that music, and thanks to my kind friend in high school, I learned how to play Tetris fairly well. The first time my game-savvy son and I played this year, I did almost as well as he did. He looked confused. Of course, after about a week, he is so much better than me at this game that I am in awe.

Now, when Ron and I play Tetris, our teenage son will sometimes come play with us and just leave us in awe. Today, Ron and I were struggling with a level, and then our son said, “Can I give it a go?” Ron and I stood back and said, “work your magic.” It’s fascinating to watch how his young brain solves the puzzles. He plays so differently than I do. He’s so aggressive in his play style. He’s very competitive, like annoyingly so. We used to have family game nights, but Ron is very competitive too. I couldn’t handle that much competition.

But watching that kid play Tetris is a treat to me, and it’s one way I can meet him where he is. He loves gaming almost as much as he loves music. In fact, his favorite place to live is in the classical music soundtracks of epic video games. It’s nice to have a game in common, and I am thankful today for Tetris. In fact, after I finish writing this post, I am going to go play some more.