Connecting can seem hard somedays when rushing, kids are on ‘i’ devices and life is full.

Making conversation can sometimes seem hard or challenging. Here’s a fun game we play from time to time to liven up discussions and build our sense of history and belonging as a family.

Over family dinner on Sunday night, we did a round table ‘getting to know each other better’ Q&A. I cherish these moments when we delve into each other’s stories, even though we live together and have spent decades with each other, there are always new things to discover.

We each took it in turns to answer this question: What was your worst ever job?

What was yours? (Hopefully it’s not the one you’re currently in but if so, read on …)

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• A new strategy to try this week
• Create family memories with board games

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The answers were interesting:

• Repairing the tennis courts with new grass plugs for 8 hrs a day, 4 weeks in a row in the middle of summer. (Hot, repetitive, getting through Uni)
• Stacking shelves at the local grocery store. (Tedious, hard work, repetitive, saving for overseas trip)
• Cleaning 1,000 rulers. (Incredibly boring, paying my way through Uni)
• Working on a conveyor belt at a biscuit factory. (Workplace bullying, highly stressful.)

There were moments when each of us felt on the edge of throwing in the towel, overwrought and it’s so tempting in those moments to think, “I shouldn’t have to do this …”, “I can’t stand this any longer.” etc.

How we got through those moments was by refocusing our minds on:

• Accepting this is how things are for the moment, it’s not forever, just a temporary phase, a means to an end i.e. money/study….
• Finding things in those moments that we could be grateful for e.g. while cleaning rulers, I let my mind revise all the things I needed to know for my upcoming exams (I was studying at the time) and likewise for each of us.
• Focusing on doing the job at hand with the best of our ability and intention, so at least at the end of it, there was a sense of pride in knowing we’d put in solid work. The pay cheque was certainly highly valued after weeks of the above.

So why not liven up family meals this week with an interesting question?

Look for the strategies and lessons that you can share and learn from each other. Sharing our stories is the best way to pass on education.

Do you and your family play any games like this? Please share in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

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