I grew up playing card games, board games and jigsaw puzzles - and so did my kids.

My son-in-law is on vacation this week, and called to say they wanted to come over and play Risk on Thursday - so plan on a casserole that I can pop in the oven for dinner and keep playing. Our games last until the wee hours of the morning, so they are also spending the night. My daughters often come over to my place, or I go to theirs, to work on jigsaw puzzles or play games. We talk for hours, listen to music, and podcasts, laugh and relax in each other's simple company.

My grandmother used to say, that rituals and traditions are the stepping stones we follow when we are lost in the dark. We blindly move from one stone to the next until the light returns to light our way. I often think of card game, board games and jigsaw puzzles as our stepping stones. One card, one roll of the dice, and one puzzle piece at a time we move forward.