Social Creature

Last night I played hearts for the first time in a while.

I had been in a pretty crummy mood for most of the afternoon, and when I'm sad my natural inclination is to curl up and sleep it off. But I'd let the apartment go to shambles while my roommate was away camping this week, so I had to pick it up. Cleaning in a bad mood isn't fun, and I had a really hard time picturing bad-mood hearts.

But then people started arriving and the game was explained to the sole newbie. I did a terrible job of serving my guests tea, and there was lots of laughing at my huge tea ball and its not fitting in any mugs, and my tea-snob friend suggesting that loose brewing followed by straining was far superior to steeping in a confined space. And there was much laughing.

And then there was more laughing, and more silliness, and a holler of sorrow when I was first burdened with the Queen of Spades. I haven't laughed that much, or been that joyous, in recent memory. Card games allow for more conversation than the board games we play (Settlers of Catan and Carcasonne mostly) and I hadn't realized how much I miss the conversations over cards that I had so, so many times at Oberlin. I shouldn't be surprised anymore by how much my friends can lift my spirits, but sometimes the transformation is remarkable.

...and then I start thinking about their (possible/probable) departures for the east coast in the next year, and I bury my head in the sand like an ostrich. The future will not come if I can't see it.