Games

At my age (only 67, but getting there), I have to keep in shape, and that means keeping my mind agile as well as my body.  

My mother used to do daily crossword puzzles. We hated to play Scrabble with her because she always won.  When she was still in the ICU after her heart attack, I brought a Scrabble board to the hospital to keep her entertained, or so I said.  I figured it was my only chance to win.  I didn't.  She was totally alert until she suddenly died. 

I don't do crossword puzzles, but each morning, I play spider solitaire, the most difficult version that uses all the suits.  I win about 20 percent of the time.  I keep working at it, thinking about my mother.   

In the evening, before I go to bed, I work sudoku puzzles.  I like the most difficult puzzles but the sudoku books I can buy around here start with really easy puzzles. Either I ignore the first half of the book or speed through by doing four or five at one sitting until I reach the challenging puzzles. 

Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get to sleep.  I find one or the other of the puzzles relaxes me, taking my mind into the problems and away from MY problems.  

So now I am ready to go to bed, taking sudoku with me.