Play!

Play is not just for kids. It strengthens bonds as a married couple and as a family. Studies have shown play builds trust and boosts the emotional and mental well-being of children and parents. Play adds joy to life and who doesn’t need that! Play is an outlet for stress. Unlike scrolling or vegging in front of the TV, active play burns calories and connects us with others in real time.

Sardines Is Pure Play

“Sardines anyone?” was always met with a resounding “Yes!” in our family. Think of Sardines as reverse Hide and Seek, only a lot more fun.

Sardine #1 hides and the rest seek. When you find the one hiding, all pack in like sardines. What could be more fun than stuffing into a tight space, trying not to be seen or heard? The last person to find the hiding place becomes the lead Sardine and the next to hide.

Create Your Own Rules

We have always played after dark, outside or inside. When extended family and friends were over furniture got quietly rearranged to accommodate more hiding sardines. Young kids team up with older Sardines learning the dark is fun, not scary. Even adults can be silly and spontaneous in the dark. Sneak up on your spouse. Have a little fun.

Quiet Is the Operative Word

This is a “quiet” game, a relief to parents after a busy day. But try not to giggle when you cram one more Sardine into a shower stall or behind a sofa. Try hushing a toddler who wants to be found by his daddy egging him on, calling out “Where are you?”

Create Memories

“Maybe she’s under the bed?” — simple question. The response “She wouldn’t fit under the bed” elicited giggles from his mother who was within earshot and soon found. Decades later the simple question “Where’s your mom, your sister, your shoes?” and the quip “Not under the bed,” brings levity and laughter.

Life Lessons Learned

We played upstairs or downstairs but climbing the spiral staircase in the dark was verboten. One brazen Sardine hid in the stairwell and in piled the rest, sitting on or hanging from the stairs but not ‘climbing the stairs.’ Adults were complicit. Knowing when to extend boundaries and tweak the rules is important in the game of life.

Creative Teamwork

One night we’d searched everywhere except the Racquetball Court. That stairwell was not off limits. We carefully descended into the dark. Then began the Teamwork as we scanned the court shoulder to shoulder. Sardine #1 knew the jig was up as he crept along, just out of reach, until we cornered him. The resulting dog pile created laughter that echoed off the walls.

Set a Time Limit

Only once did we fail to find the lead Sardine who was standing behind the curtains on the windowsill, still as a statue. 20 years later he tells us he felt a little lonely and disappointed in not being found but revels in the title “King of Sardines” and typically has a niece or nephew in tow as Sardines is passed onto the next generation.

Enjoy!

We hope you had a few laughs or giggles as we shared memories of family play. Take time as a couple to play this holiday season. Keep it simple. Make memories. Take a little risk and Play as if you were kids.