Chess and change

Ted kicked my arse at chess again today. I think we need to find a new reason to meet up on Sundays, as I think it’s obvious that neither of us enjoys the ritual humiliation that he meters out to me on a weekly basis. I don’t even bother trying to learn new moves anymore, I just sit there and shuffle bits around the board until he puts me out of my misery. Thankfully, the World Cup starts next week, so we’ll be watching a game I have no interest in, rather than playing one that I’m rubbish at.
Ted and his family love the World Cup. Well - Ted and two of his sons do, the others just get carried along with the excitement and like it as an excuse to meet up and drink a lot. Ted tells me he’ll be watching every game that’s on ‘even when there are three games a day.’ I have an open invitation to join him at any point, which is nice. There’ll be various friends and relatives there at different times, and Beryl is standing by to provide snacks and sustenance. I’ve been alive for a quarter of a century, and I finally seem to understand what it means to be part of a family.
Speaking of families, I think Nathan and Hannah might be starting one soon. They’ve done just about everything else together. Annoyingly and wonderfully enough, the more time they spend together, the closer they seem to be, and the better they seem to get. The change in my sister is incredible, and it’s all positive. I hate this phrase, but it’s almost as if she’s growing up. I hope so - it’ll be nice to have one member of the Chesworth family achieve emotional maturity.

RC 6-6-10