End of winning streak

I used to enjoy the Chinese New Year gambling a lot. And I seemed to be quite a lucky person too (a couple of my friends have also made that observation about me, but they meant in life, not at the gambling table). As far as I can remember, I've never lost at gambling at my relatives' (key word) place. It's usually at my maternal grandfather's place on 初一, and then again at an uncle's or auntie's place (final venue usually decided on 初一) on the following weekend.

The 初一 gambling has slowed in recent years, because the grandchildren generation have gotten to the marriage and childbearing age. They needed to set an example for the 4th generation (like real!). We now spend our time sitting around and chuckling at the toddlers' antics and their ravaging through the heaps of toys.

But the weekend's gambling sessions are still going strong after all these years. In a large family like my mum's, it is inevitable that a few of her siblings, and their respective families, are closer than to some of the others. So this is a gathering of those few siblings and their families. Fortunately for me, my mum is part of that group.

I used to get a real kick from winning. Not because of the money, but because I knew I had beaten the odds again. In recent years, that feeling has all but disappeared. Replacing it is a looking forward to the bantering and updating of one another's lives over the past year. And of course, all those senseless and sometimes bawdy jokes that get thrown around.

This year, I'll be missing all these and more. There goes my winning streak too.

61 days to go.

P.S. 祝大家狗年事事順心，身體健康。