“Fifteen two, fifteen four, pair is six…”
We’ve all heard the saying, “life is like a deck of cards, you have to play the hand you’re dealt.” but I truly believe life resembles a game of cribbage. This is a game that has been near and dear to my heart since I was a wee little girl. Many thanks to this handsome man who took the time to patiently teach each and every grandchild how to play, count, deal, and win.
It’s a silly game with a board, a deck of cards, and some pegs – or if you are like me: toothpicks, matches, or anything that fits in the holes to replace the pegs you lost. Cribbage is a game of numbers, addition, combinations, and a few silly rules thrown in there. My earliest memories of this game take me to my grandparents farm where Sulo would patiently explain the rules to me over and over again while polka music played in the background. He was so so proud of us, he wanted to be the one to teach us. Whenever we would visit we would go with him to the old schoolhouse and play in their weekly tournaments, I am not sure if people loved or hated having a little 8 year old blond girl as their partner, but they put up with me and I have to say, I wasn’t all bad.
Grandpa Sulo is the king of cribbage and watching him play is so fun. He offered advice, tips, and kind smiles even if you flubbed. He would always make me count each hand and then if I missed some he would help me to see the missed points and let me move my pegs a little farther. We would have mini tournaments and grandma would keep his coffee cup filled until we would call it quits. The love for cribbage followed me into my adult life and became a game that the family played at the cabin, at coffee shops, after dinner. Drew and I started playing when we were dating and we would grab our own board and take it to Starbucks where we would post up for the night and play game after game. We had a little tally on the back of the board and kept track of who won more (ahem, of course it was me… how could you even think otherwise?)
When I think of my grandpa I think about the lessons he taught me well beyond counting cards and moving pegs. Those little learning moments that are gone in the blink of an eye but that follow you through life and every journey. Whenever I play cribbage I think of him and the way he patiently and proudly taught us, how he wanted us to be his partner and how even if we lost (which I swear was like once…ever) we would kiss us and boldly tell people I was the best partner and his little ray of sunshine.
Life is a lot like cribbage. Sometimes you get dealt a crumby hand and no combination would give you a single point, other hands are so good you struggle to figure out how to separate the possibilities. Sometimes your partner messes up and sometimes they are your saving grace. Some combinations are a match made in heaven and others can yield zero results. At times the small things can be what get you to move and regardless of if you keep track of who won more – you did something great as a team.
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This is great Jenna. I totally agree with the message, and it hits close to home too. Its funny, because my parents visited this weekend, and Eric and I and them played lots of pairs cribbage. Mainly though, because my great-grandpa taught me how to play as well. I was 5 years old when I first ‘learned.’ Every winter my great-grandparents went to Florida, and we followed. He would teach us over and over and we played for hours on end there. Today, at 93, although he needs some help shuffling and whatnot, we still play!
Thanks for this 🙂
my husband kyles nickname is cribbage. i think this blog is so neat… it sounds just like him up at the cabin with his grandpa who taught him. thanks for writing such a neat blog. ill make sure to share it with him.
I love this, Jenna! Both Chuck and I grew up playing and are thankful to have learned from the best!