When the kids were about 10 years old we took them to a restaurant in Debary, Florida not too far from our home in Sanford. There was a hook and ring game in the lobby of the restaurant for patrons to play as they waited to be seated. The kids enjoyed it for a few minutes. In 2019 we replaced the kid’s playset (aka Fort Christman) in our backyard with a fire pit and patio. We installed a hook and ring game on a tree next to the patio in what was to have been a temporary manner. I never got around to making the installation any better or more permanent.
When the COVID pandemic hit the United States in February 2020 our family was forced to hunker down. It was around spring break that their school, Annunciation Catholic Academy announced that classes would be conducted remotely for the remainder of the school year. Gavin was in 6th grade, Conor in 7th. Our guys spent their school days on their computers along with all the other kids in the country, doing their best to follow along in a hastily envisioned new learning environment. Gavin spent his days at his desk in our hallway, Conor in his room. I sat at my desk in my office, able to see both boys down the hall. The weather was pleasant, and the new setting was a nice change for a little while. We all enjoyed being together for the first several months. Summer came but our schedule didn’t change much; we stayed close to home entertaining ourselves with walks, time in the pool, or playing games. The kids frequently played video games online with their friends. When school started again in the Fall we kept our boys home. They finally returned to class in person in February 2021 having worked from home for nearly one year.
Sometime during that year Gav and I started making a habit of playing the hook and ring game for a few minutes every day. I would practice while on work phone calls. I would say I had a few hours under my belt when he first started playing. The game scoring is pretty simple; fifty points for a ringer, ten points for hitting the hook with the ring (sometimes you can hit the hook twice in the same shot, that was thirty points), and zero for a miss. We played a game where we each took ten tries and totaled the score. Although I had much more practice, Gav would often beat me. He held the record during competition with 330 points, six ringers, three hits, and a miss. It was a simple, fun way to pass the time, and another example of Gavin being good at nearly anything he wanted to do. I still play the game on my own while on the phone or while just passing time. I fondly remember the times we played and the time we spent together as a family during COVID.
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