Squids and Sneezes

Our friends Mark and Gloria invited Larry and me to their home one recent Sunday evening to play a new word game.  We began by being given a certain number of tiles, each bearing a vowel or consonant. Then, we were faced with the challenge of having to make words with the tiles, assembled in crossword puzzle fashion.  Whoever managed to do so first was deemed the winner of that round.  My husband Larry, who normally shies away from playing games, has an uncanny tendency to win them.  That night, he didn't disappoint.  While we each took our turn at winning, Larry's achievement involved more complex words, such as squids and sneezes.  It's not always easy to know what to do with a "q" or a "z" tile when you find them in your midst, but Larry managed well. At one point, I had five "i" tiles.  At first, I thought it was great having so many vowels, but I quickly found that I was at a loss for words, struggling to use so many featuring the same letter. But, it didn't matter if I won or not.  The joy was in being together, sharing stories and laughs with good friends, and playing a simple word game around the kitchen table.  I'd spell that as FUN.