She Beat Me

One of the bad things about being a Mah Jongg teacher is I tend to beat new players, especially children. Carter learned to play Mah Jongg when she was very little. She was a fairly good sport about playing with me, even when I beat her, but this did not endear a love of the game for her. It did teach her to be a good sport and to learn from her mistakes, which I think is a much more important lesson than winning.

Fast forward, and now she likes playing. It helps that Claire likes to play and soon Carter’s friends are going to learn. While she is visiting us in Maine we have been playing Siamese Mah Jongg. Each player plays two racks and to win you have to get Mah Jongg on both racks.

There is less luck in this game as you have to be strategic to not play against yourself. At first I won every game and Carter was an excellent sport and wanted to keep playing. Then she beat me. It was a thrilling moment to beat your expert Mah Jongg mom.

There is nothing better than enjoying your own grown child. It has been so much fun to have her come to Maine, even if she and Russ work all day. Shay and I try and stay busy. Today I even went and got the car washed while Carter and Russ were both on different zoom calls. It was a little like the pandemic all over again.

Nonetheless it is just great to spend time together, even if she beats me.