Tiles

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Tiles, tiles and more tiles! So many fun patterns, colors, and designs to choose from. I sat down at a table for a game with this particularly fun set and was immediately reminded that tablescapes matter, and playing with a beautiful set somehow makes the game even better.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly have more than my fair share of Mahjong sets, but somehow one more always seems completely reasonable to my unreasonable brain. I may have to place myself on a strict no-tile-purchase rule until the new year, although using them for teaching purposes seems to give me a pretty convenient loophole. I tell myself it's really a business expense, after all. I recently bought a Christmas set, so that should definitely hold me over until 2027... we'll see! They are all just so darn pretty!

I'm gearing up for another Mahjong night at home, setting up a few tables for friends and planning a game-night extravaganza. It's long overdue. There is something wonderful about filling the house with friends, Mahjong seems to be a good excuse! 

I've been playing quite a bit lately without using the card, forcing my brain to recall the sequences from memory. It's an extra layer of challenge that keeps me on my toes. It also tends to freak people out a little, which, admittedly, makes it even more fun for me. After playing for so long, it's satisfying to realize that some of those patterns have finally made their way from the card into my brain.

Then, just like that, it was time to return from travel mode to weekday reality. After arriving home, I was up and out the door at top speed, right back into a day filled with timestamps, work musts, and a long list of things that needed doing. Thankfully, finishing the day by teaching Mahjong made the busy day fly by. There is something about ending a workday surrounded by tiles, conversation, and people learning to love the game that makes it feel a whole lot less like work.

Of course, now that I'm home, I'm already thinking about the next trip to Virginia. My son says I'm apparently on an every-three-month cycle, according to his calculations, and if that's true, I should probably book December now! Another visit, more time with family, and hopefully a little more Mahjong with my Virginia friends sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

Life has a funny way of moving between work, travel, friends, family, and the things that simply make us happy. For me lately, there seem to be Mahjong tiles scattered through all of it.... wonder if they make a Williamsburg Virginia set???

“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” — Mary Oliver