But I'm getting better at blocking all of that off and enjoying what I can. Had a nice dinner with the family, talked to the kids a little about the election, and the differences in parties. Then after dinner it was time for- connect four!
My D5 now gets to play using the 'extra checker'. At any moment she can drop two checkers in a row. I get to go first, otherwise she can force a win in like 6 moves. But if I go first, often I can get control over several key squares in the middle and put up a fight. It's a challenge for both of us. For me to win she has to go wrong, obviously, but I can make it tough and give her chances to make mistakes. D9 doesn't get an extra checker against me, I let her start each game with two consecutive moves.
Knocked out a couple of chess puzzles before dinner too. The first one I set up my D9 solved in like 2 seconds. She didn't really consider all of black's defensive resources, but it's hard to be too critical because she found the right move and the winning idea behind it immediately. Then S12 solved a nice mate in four.
I like games and it's fun to see my kids get into them too. Pretty much everything I've learned in terms of managing through my life I've learned from games. It's all a big game of connect four to me. Of course, some times I'm up against the 'extra checker'
Me:38 XW:38 T:11 years M:8 years Kids: S14, D11, D7 BD/Move out day: 6/17/14, D final Dec 15
