National Scrabble Day

Today's obscure holiday was a surprise.  I had never heard of National Scrabble Day, but I am very well acquainted with the game.  Growing up around my house, Scrabble was a game played often.  Not only was it played often, it was played very competitively.  Wow!  Oh how the scores would reflect how eager we were to out-score our opponent through a Triple or Double Word Score, a Triple Letter Score, or whatever the case may have been.  My father typically became the victor in such games, but every so often I or my mother would rise to the top to take the crown as champion for ourselves.  When those times came around, we reveled in our victory because we knew it had been earned.  Fast forward many years since my father passed away.  Typically Mom, my brother, and I will still gather for a game of Scrabble over the Thanksgiving and/or Christmas holidays.  In the place of my father, I have become the most frequent reigning champion of the game.  However, this previous holiday season brought about a huge upset as dear ol' Mom ran the table on me in winning several games in a row.  She pointedly asked if I was even trying, to which I responded, "Of course I'm trying, but it's damn hard to do anything with five letter I's!"  Ha ha!  Once the wounds of personal pride and ego were healed well enough, I offered a challenge for a re-match.  Maybe I can reclaim, once again, my rightful place as Scrabble champ.  Overall the game is great for vocabulary development and in strategy of word placement.  Sometimes taking less points initially is okay if it will set me up for a grand slam on the next turn.  Ah, the memories!  If you are not familiar with or have ever played this game, please do so.  You may not like it at first, but it will grow on you.  Happy National Scrabble Day!