Deja Vu

After dinner, Jefferson asked Elijah if he could play chess with him. James joined them. Elijah asked Gillian if she wanted to play with them, but Gillian kindly refused; she preferred to read. Seeing the boys playing chess with Elijah and Gillian totally immersed in her reading brought a lot of fun memories in my mind. As I was growing up, the same scene was repeated over and over again in my house. I remember that especially after my father passed away my mother would let us stay late with her either watching something, reading, talking, or playing games. However, the most common thing we would do in the evening was my mom would play chess with my brother and I would read. The reason this memory makes me laugh is the fact that my mom would play with my brother till she would win. Now, my mother is very competitive, but my brother knew how to play way better. She would get into the game with such seriousness that sometimes she would forget she was playing against her son, who was very young (around 8 years old I think). My brother might have being young, but he was smart. After realizing she wouldn't stop playing till she won, he would loose the game on purpose without my mom realizing it, especially on those nights when he was very tired. She would literally play till midnight. I was all right with that because I just wanted to read, sometimes all night, but my brother was younger than me and he needed his rest. Now, my mother was a fantastic mother. She really took care of us, loved us and educated us the best she could. Our well being was her mission in her life. However, when she played chess with my brother she would totally get lost in the game. The funniest thing was when she realized that my brother was tricking her in losing the game on purpose. She would get angry and challenged my brother to another game. Then, we would all laugh, including her, realizing how funny and silly this game playing had turned. Tonight, it was Jefferson who reminded me of my mother. He would get very upset if he lost the game, and would ask Elijah to play again. Elijah was patient with him, and would help Jefferson practice being a good sport when he lost. I better not have my mom play with Jefferson chess anytime. They would stay all night, considering their desire to win. It would be fun to see, though what would really happen. I'm grateful for great memories, past and present, and look forward to making more in the future, like seeing my mother and Jefferson play together.