Women playing word games: "Did you get penile?" “Of course — it was my first word!"

Wordle on West Cliff Drive.

Like many other nerdy folks I know and love, one of my favorite things to do these days is playing brain teasers like Spelling Bee and Wordle.

 

I look forward to new games almost as much as my morning coffee, and am usually perfectly happy playing them alone in my pajamas as I shake my brain awake. But I was pleased to discover that, like most things, the games can be even more fun when played with another person.

“Did you get penile?” I asked my friend as we sat on the couch together one morning, both with iPads in our laps open to that day’s Spelling Bee.

“Of course,” Cecilia said. “It was my first word.”

 

That was cool.

 

“You’re welcome,” I said with a smile, figuring that my telling her about the Icelandic Phallological Museum earlier had helped put that word top of mind.

But even cooler than enjoying the games together was learning that she was just as addicted to them as me, and maybe even more so.

Because while I admit to being so devastated when I lost my Wordle streak to sheer forgetfulness that I now resort to cheating (just a little) to ensure that I never lose it again, my friend told me that she cannot — simply CANNOT — stop playing Spelling Bee until she achieves “Genius” level.

“I am obsessed!” she said, admitting that she had to stop playing the game in bed at night because her need to reach the highest possible level would often keep her, and therefore her husband, from sleeping until she did. 

Which is why she was playing next to me in her slippers and robe. And while I must admit that most mornings I prefer being joined by only a cup of coffee, and maybe a cat, while I tackle my word games, it was very nice to play with a friend. Especially because later I knew exactly who to text when I finally found enough words at Spelling Bee to be declared a “Genius!” myself.

But, of course, the coolest thing of all about Cecilia is how she became like a mother to me after one of her dear friends, my mother, died when I was a teenager.