Distraction in the form of Cards

Distraction is an important part of learning to live with chronic pain.  Medication and meditation only go so far.  One needs the complete involvement of heart, mind, and soul connecting with others to be distracted.  For me, that distraction is card games.  I love them: euchre, poker, 500, hand and foot, hearts, bridge, phase 10... Pretty much all card games.  I love that you need a strategy and yet there is also luck involved.  The interactions, the teams, the mental telepathy you use so your teammate will call the right trump.  I admit it - I am a card junkie.

I learned to play poker in New Orleans with our best friends Tom and Laura.  We used skittles as "chips" and not only played for hours but some of us kept eating our profits thus we purchased all the skittles in the vending machine and Tim had to run to a corner store to purchase more.  The laughter was non-stop and aside from the amazing music and delicious food of New Orleans - it is my most treasured memory from that vacation.

Tim and I learned to play bridge from our friends Rick and Kim.  The most famous of all the hands we played was the one in which Tim had a once in a lifetime hand.  Kim told him "It was a no-brainer but you played it well".  That quote is used at least 3 to 4 times a week in our home.

Dave and Kerri taught us hand and foot.  Thankfully they don't make me do the math required - it is not my strongest skill.  Though, if Dave would let me count - Kerri and I would always win (which we usually do anyway).

We play euchre with my Mom.  She is one of the smartest people I know.  Her knowledge is vast and her wit is quick.  However, she has an issue with cards.  Namely, "who is my partner again?"  Um, the person sitting across from you (which 99% of the time is me).

Cards take my mind off of pain and offer me a distraction that I am always grateful for.  They are a tradition with friends and the comments and quotes that occur during games become household words that are spoken with love and always a smile.  These moments that I treasure help me find spoons on spoonless days and help me cope with crushing pain when nothing is working.  I draw upon my memories of good times to get through the difficult ones.

Many of you know that my Mom came from Ohio to help with the transition from hospital to home and stayed for a few days.  Tim, Robert, and I played euchre with my Mom on her last night here.  There was a huge amount of therapeutic laughter and the quote of the night is a keeper:
Tim (to Robert): You really don't want to see your Mom or your Grandma doing 5 tricks in one night.
Grandma: Yeah.  That is 4 tricks too many!