Jeff and I like to bowl, even though neither of us is great at it. But it hasn't occurred to us to take Biscuit ... until last night.
I got a message Thursday from a friend of mine who said she had a deal that included shoe rental and a couple of hours of bowling at a local bowling alley. My friend has a little boy who's a year younger than Biscuit, and the times they've encountered each other, they've gotten along well. So I accepted the bowling invitation.
We walked into the bowling alley. And Biscuit went CRAZY!
He was jumping up and down with excitement. "Dad, this is the funnest place on Earth!" Biscuit said. "This is awesome, Dad. It's just awesome!"
Jeff looked at me and said, "Did you hear that? I guess that means we don't have to plan a trip to that other 'happiest place on Earth.'"
We went to the shoe rental counter, and I asked for the smallest pair of shoes they had. They were still too big for Biscuit. I could fit my thumb behind his foot in the shoes with no effort, so we told him to just play in his socks.
There were six spots on the scoreboard, and there were five adults. So we split the last spot between Biscuit and his friend.
And let me say that the technology at the bowling alley has stepped up since the last time I was there. You can put a check by the kids' names, and when it's their turn to roll, the bumpers automatically pop up down the sides of the alley. It was pretty cool.
On Biscuit's first turn, I grabbed a ball, and we walked to the line. We put the ball on the floor and gave it a good shove. I guess it wasn't rolling quite fast enough, so Biscuit went running down the lane after it. He was about 10 steps toward the pins before I could holler for him.
"GRIFFIN! GRIFFIN!" I yelled. He stopped and turned to look at me. "Come back! You can't go on that part!"
Biscuit shuffled back toward me, and we stood at the line watching the ball. It was rolling toward the gutter, but with the bumpers up, it just bounced off the side and kept rolling. I can't explain how slowly that ball made its way down the alley.
And the entire time it rolled, Biscuit jumped up and down and yelled. "Go ball! Go ball! Knock 'em down! Knock down a lot of them!"
As the ball finally reached the pins, it was rolling right along the bumper. It barely bumped the pin on the end, but it was enough to make it fall down.
"I GOT ONE!!! I GOT ONE!!! DID YOU SEE THAT?!? I KNOCKED ONE DOWN!!!" Biscuit screamed.
There were high-fives all around, then Biscuit went running into Jeff's arms. He was so very proud of himself.
Biscuit's friend went next, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. His parents had to wake him up from a nap just to get to the bowling alley on time, and I think the little man was still half asleep.
He rolled the ball, and it knocked a pin down. He smiled, but it was almost like he didn't quite get it.
The adults all took their turns, then it was time for the kids again. And this time, Biscuit's friend was ready to go. He was excited. He rolled the ball down the alley with help from his mom, and when several pins went down, his whole face lit up. He had a huge grin, and he was ready for high-fives.
The boys were getting so into the game that every time one of the adults would walk back toward the seats, they'd start asking, "Is it my turn? Is it my turn?"
Believe it or not, I forgot to take my camera, but my friend had her smartphone and snapped a couple of pictures.
Here's Biscuit is all his excitement at the bowling alley.
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| I think this was Biscuit's first turn. He barely caught the left back pin and knocked it down. If there was this much excitement over one pin, what would the kid have down if he had gotten a strike?!? |
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| See how everything is in focus except for Biscuit? It seemed like he jumped up and down the entire time we were there. |
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