There are certain aspects of my life that tend to portray me as somewhat older than I actually am. And by ‘older’ I mean ‘eighty’. Like the fact I’m an avid knitter and contribute baby hats alongside the ‘knitting grandmas’ club at my local hospital’s NICU. And, yes, I have even been known to have made a quilt or two in my day, although I apparently need to refine this particular skill as the blanket I gave my mother for Christmas has a few missed stitches or, as I prefer to call them, ‘finger nooks’.

I have been known to take several stained glass classes alongside woman who tsk-tsk upon discovering I’m single, thinking I’m far younger than I actually am and offering to set me up with their college-aged grandsons. I enjoy tea with friends and I love the Antiques Roadshow. I die my grey hairs and even have an age spot. Or two. And while I take solice in the fact that I’m still way younger than Jennifer Aniston, providing me the logic that if she’s still hot, single and childless there’s hope for me yet, I can’t help but wonder if she enjoys a good game of cards as much as I do.

I get together with ‘the girls’ a couple times a month to play Crazy Rummy. It can take us months to finish a game, a fact that ensures we keep meeting. And while the players may have changed over the years it’s a tradition I’ve been fond of before I was ever old enough to go to the bar. Rummy, euchre, backgammon, chess… the game doesn’t matter. The important part is the fact it’s so much more than just a past time. You meet a friend for coffee and the encounter lasts, what, an hour? Play a seemingly never-ending game of cards and hours pass. Hours that are filled with so much more than a deck of cards and background noise from a TV or radio. They are spent over glasses of iced tea and wine coolers, nachos and cheesecake. And they are full of discussions and stories. Silences are never awkward, since you can use the time to ponder strategy, and topics of conversation tend to go beyond any coffee shop gossip and chit chat. You become so much more than card players. You become a closeknit group of friends. You begin the evening by catching up on everyday things and you end it by mentioning anything that comes to mind- fears, hopes, dreams and the kind of things you would never admit to anyone, like the fact you peed your pants in kindergarten or that your high school crush was Patrick Swayze (both hypothetical, of course).

There’s an unwritten rule that what’s said at cards stays at cards. It’s like Vegas, but different. When you spend time with people doing something you enjoy… cards, crafts, volunteer work… it becomes routine and you become comfortable with those people. You tease, you kid and, sometimes, you become just plain silly. You create memories. You eat snacks. You have drinks. You exercise your brain and feed your basic human needs for companionship and gossip.

So while, on paper, I may seem older than I am I don’t mind. Truth be known, I’m open to all sorts of activities and if showing an interest in lawn bowling makes me old than so be it. I know the thing truly ‘old’ about my activites are the friendships that come of them. And, really, that’s all that matters. Although winning a game would be nice, every now and then…

Kristel is a Physicist, computer programmer and blogger, writing about everything from depression to dating… and sometimes even both! She lives in Saskatchewan, Canada and can be contacted at gilsner@gmail.com

Photo Credit © Sophie Phelps | Dreamstime.com