I’M STILL LEARNING

I joined the Mah Jongg League last year and there’s still so much to learn. It had been years since I had played, and I was not a very good player when I played years ago.  Many years ago, I played with a group of highly skilled, massively competitive Asian women, and each game went by in a tornado-touchdown blur.  I begged them to slow down a bit, and they would simply laugh at me. 

“No way!”

Nonetheless, they kept me in their game, and if I still lived there, I’d be playing the game with them every week. 

Years before that, I played with a group of remarkable Jewish women who took me in because they needed a fourth player. When we moved to another state it would be fair to say I left that state a mediocre player.  I could follow along, and keep up to their pace, but lost every time. 

Here are common factors in all three of these scenarios: not once did they kick me out of the game, nor did they make fun of me for being a terrible player, for it turns out that I was challenging them nontheless. The luck of my discards, luck when drawing tiles and passing them along was important no matter. So keep showing up, I told myself. They need you, and everyone benefits.

for it turns out that I was challenging them nontheless. The luck of my discards, luck when drawing tiles and passing them along was important no matter. So keep showing up, I told myself. They need you and everyone benefits.

At a Jewish Christmas Eve party my husband and I attended in December, a millennial complained to me that “All my mother does is play Mah Jongg!”  I never knew this was possible but I could easily do the same as his mother. There’s a part of me that would love to play more often, and I am not at a loss for invitations. 

Technically me and my husband are elderly because we both hit Silver Sneakers status last year. Mah Jongg is a very difficult game to learn. But there are plenty of big wins for me and my aging brain whenever I play Mah Jongg. For example, last week three elderly women—one octogenarian—kicked my ass during three games, and if you are following the argument, beat out the other three elderly women. Right now I am stable: I can keep up. Hopefully, if I stay in the game at some point I will win too.  Every week my teammates tell me it’s gonna happen at some point. Every week I quip, “I’m on the five year plan!” I’m going to keep playing for five years without crapping on myself for losing but hoping to win by then. I am exceptionally calm and sleep well after every game night. Honestly, I hope to play for more than five years.

Every week my teammates tell me it’s gonna happen at some point. 

My teammates are there for the same reason: Mah Jongg keeps the brain sharp.  Mah Jongg is a good excuse for a social occasion.  Mah Jongg is a game one can play and socialize at the same time. You gotta hold conversations while playing. There is a lot of laughter involved in playing Mah Jongg.  Sometimes there is a lot of food involved too.  Google Mah Jongg snacks. Last week I brought Dove dark chocolate pieces–another good way to keep my brain healthy.

I am looking forward to playing Mah Jongg this week.  I’m doing all of this for healthy reasons.  I remind myself It all depends on the tiles, it all depends on the luck of a discard, and there’s so much to learn still. Keep on learning for your brain’s sake is my mantra. 

Here’s a video of Julie Roberts explaining why she plays Mah Jongg with her girlfriends once a week. And in the other video she takes a Mah Jongg quiz. Honestly, since my social media is once again saturated, I don’t think JLo needs to make another video to explain her life, I think she needs to join a weekly Dominoes Game or maybe a Mah Jongg game with the girls like Julia’s.