Story by Melissa Steele (BBO: Happydazej)

My dad taught my mom to play bridge when they met in college and the game was important to both of them. My dad, I am told, assisted Goren in the writing of one of his bridge books. My parents, I'm sure, taught my brothers to play and they taught my sister and me. I am the youngest of four and was born into an over-crowded 2 bedroom house in Santa Barbara, Ca where my dad was still a student.

My siblings were shocked and dismayed when my parents informed them that I was on the way, and my older brothers wanted to know, "where will you put it?" But, the story goes, they needed a fourth and so I was destined to be that fourth.

I remember playing bridge on the floor of my brothers' room in Winnipeg, Canada. After going down several tricks, my brother David admonished me. "Can't you add? You can't open with eight points!!" Sadly, I was five-years-old and in fact couldn't yet add.

Over the years we would play bridge when the four of us were in the same city so rarely, as we are scattered across Canada from B.C. to Halifax, but BBO has made regular family bridge games possible. We chat and catch up and play some bridge. Our mom won't venture onto BBO but has a regular in-person bridge group in her town on Vancouver Island.

This summer, to celebrate our mom's 90th birthday, all four of her kids and a few other family members took her on a cruise to Alaska where we played several hands of bridge together every day.

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