In light of Parents Weekend – it’s time for me to cherish one my family’s frequent traditions.
It’s that time of day. A fattening lunch of pizza and breadsticks lies left half-eaten on the kitchen table. The sun’s rays peer through the window and toast the living room floor. The air is saturated with vapors from the open Coke bottle on the table and sweat from the five of us. We can’t even rouse ourselves from our boredom and go for a nap. That’s when one of us somehow musters the energy to walk the five feet to the cabinet and bring back the ultimate cure for our laziness – Monopoly. Watching the board being unfolded and the stacks of paper money being swiftly handed out is enough to perk us up for the hours of exhilaration, frustration, and fierce competition ahead of us.
In our family of businessmen, bankers, and real estate agents, Monopoly is not just an ordinary board game.
It is the supreme test to assess who has the most business savvy, the most resourcefulness, the most persuasiveness and, at the end of the day, the most riches. The quest is to conquer the board and drive the other players into millions in debt. We shriek in horror when we land on Boardwalk and have to forfeit all our earned cash. We smile gleefully and do a happy dance when we receive rent ourselves. We bargain relentlessly for properties and utilities that we desire—all for the satisfaction of money and the sheer desire to win, to dominate. The hours spent at this board game are stressful and consuming but, despite the psychological and emotional toll, it’s during these hours that my family bonds the most, thus making every minute spent playing Monopoly something to cherish. Monopoly has become our outlet to spend quality time together as one family unit. Normally, everyone seems to be absorbed by his or her individual routines and stresses but Monopoly has become a time where all the preoccupations can be put aside.
Photo Credits: Taken by fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au Canon 20D + Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L – Own work
Therefore, in a way, Monopoly has become my way of appreciating the present moment – which is much easier said than done. I, like any of us, always tend to prepare ahead, dwell on the past, and thus overlook the beauty of the present. Hence, it’s while playing Monopoly that I’ve come to realize the joy of embracing every instantaneous moment for what it – and it’s a joy that is overwhelmingly blissful and liberating.
So while I’m here today, spending time with my family for the first time after two months, I think about those moments, and how this weekend is really no different. Therefore, for all you who are spending time with your family this weekend – enjoy every second of it, and for once, your future is your future self’s problem. Think about the beauty of the moment you are currently in, and what makes your family the family you love.
Also, very fittingly, I was watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off recently, and this weekend especially, we need to all take time to appreciate what this famous quote by none other than Ferris Bueller himself–
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you can miss it”.
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