So, to engage their minds, I gathered them around the kitchen table to play a “conversation starter” game. We set our phones aside and focused on each other. Surprisingly, they were eager to get started.

A number of conversation card games are on the market. I have TableTopics and Relish. Others include Talking Point, Tales and Delve Deck. They rely on the premise that reading printed questions to each other will spur discussions that wouldn’t occur organically. Indeed, the game took us down unexpected paths. A question about TV shows somehow led to politics. One about favorite foods had us pondering the benefits of olive oil, which led to talk of organic foods and turned into a conversation about climate change.

Our varied life experiences became apparent too. I talked to my grandchildren about writing checks and what it meant when one bounced. They found this as confusing as I find cryptocurrency.

I listened to each of them explain how they wanted to be remembered by their descendants someday. Turns out they had thought about their future. Their answers gave me new insight into how they saw themselves, and I began to see them as full people, rather than just my grandchildren. In turn, I think they saw me as having a life before becoming a grandmother—even as they found it strange that I survived growing up without text messages, memes and “likes.”

The game taught me that our children and grandchildren have a great deal to say, and they need to be heard. It is up to us to keep conversation alive. In fact, it’s in the cards. —Janie Emaus