Happily, we celebrated a poker reunion a week ago. For those of you who don’t know about our poker activities, here is a little history…
When Kevin and I moved back to Maine in 2005, I started working for DHHS. It was a long story about how I ended up at DHHS, but ultimately, I grudgingly took the job. On my first day there, I was pleasantly surprised with my fun, young, and supportive unit, who immediately not only provided me support at my new job, but became my closest friends in Maine. And what better way to welcome a new-comer to a job, than to invite her and her husband to poker! Our first poker game was that weekend! We played sporadically through the fall and began our regular sessions when one of our unit members, Mark, got a new job. From there, we got together religiously on the 3rd Saturday of every month. We didn’t miss a month for three years! Sadly, moves, babies, new jobs, and life in general began to take over, poker fizzled out. While we all keep in touch, I have been sad without the monthly poker visits—even if I do spend them in my new position in the “Hen House”.
A few of the Poker Originals (in no particular order):
Renee & Mark
Jimmy & Dawn
Ryan & Beth 
We have been able to watch the kids grow (and multiply) over the years. Believe it or not, when poker first started, Cooper and Ally were the only kids!
While we have lost a few:
Anne is in Germany with her new hubby, Travis
Kristy is in Massachusetts
Nate is in Washington DC
Rainey is too cool for poker
We have gained some great new members:
Liz (sorry Liz, I don’t have your picture)
Emily & Phil
So anyway, back to the present. We organized a game last week, and had a great turn out. The boys and Beth got a great game in. The girls in the Hen House got some group therapy and light-hearted catching up in, and the kids tore the place apart, but had a wonderful time doing so. After we left, I asked Soren what his favorite part of the night was and his response was “Everything! I had such a fun time Mommy!”. My goal is to do some more recruiting for some regular players and get things up and running again!
So, in summary, I would like to send a major shout out to all of my poker friends, as our return to Maine would not have been the same without you! It is so great to know that we have such a great group of friends who can go months without talking, but get right back together without skipping a beat!
And, if you or anyone you know, is interested in cards, food, friends, crazy crazy kids and lots of them, and a monthly get-together, let us know!
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