A colorful outing
The bowling alley was an eruption of primary colors. Crayola colors splattered the carpet, hues of the color wheel swirled over the high glossy sheen of the bowling balls and an electric rainbow of color danced on the TV monitors. The color palette and its crazy, wild motions churned out a cheerful atmosphere. It was a bright sun spot in a day that was getting increasingly cloudy and gray.
Bowling was my sister's idea. And it was a brilliant one.
While my sister traveled in New York City, I baby-sat her three children. I hoped to throw in something special during our time together-an exciting splash of colorful fun. My niece and nephews suggested going to a water park but since it was October, I looked for another idea. My sister produced bowling.
An out-of-the ordinary outing became even more essential after a crisis earlier in the week. My niece called me while I was at work, sobbing that her younger brother had smashed her left index finger in a door. What followed was a whirlwind of driving to various doctor offices before being left with only the ER to squash the fear that my niece's finger was broken. I sat in the plastic chair next to the bed where my niece and youngest nephew perched and while they watched the Disney channel on the room's TV, I mentally bit my nails in nervousness-wondering if this was the right thing to do and wondering how I was going to get my oldest nephew who was down in White Rock taking a ballet lesson.
The conclusion to this story was I did get my oldest nephew back home, my niece's finger was thankfully not broken and we were all in need of some major fun.
The Saturday morning we drove to Pojoaque to go to the bowling alley was bit chilly and windy. The day was dressed in sober colors. Despite this, my car was bouncing with energy. My oldest nephew was assigned DJ for the trip and he expertly operated his phone to serenade us with songs.
Entering the bowling alley, it was all but empty. A small group to the right of us and a couple to our left made up the remaining bowlers. Starting the game, it quickly became apparent that all four of us were skilled at tossing our balls, having them land with a loud thunk on the polished wood lane, and careening them right into the gutter. The TV monitor above us would broadcast our embarrassment. My oldest nephew came to aid of his younger brother, requesting that a set of low guard rails be risen whenever his youngest sibling played to ensure his ball wouldn't fall into the gutter.
As the game progressed; so did we. Soon the TV monitors went from gleefully taunting our gutterballs to shouting out congratulations. The scores were mounting. We would all whoop and high-five whomever had their ball demolish a wall of pins with a loud cracking sound. I even went against my earlier resolution to not purchase a single piece of food from the alley's fast food restaurant. My niece and nephews dined on tortilla chips and a cup of golden-yellow cheese.
The bowling alleys' cheeriness was rubbing off on us. I felt enveloped in a happy contentment I don't always feel. Watching my sister's children have fun and having fun with each other added a glow to the outing. So I snapped a picture of three young bowlers and sent it to my sister just to show how excellent her idea was.
While my sister traveled in New York City, I baby-sat her three children. I hoped to throw in something special during our time together-an exciting splash of colorful fun. My niece and nephews suggested going to a water park but since it was October, I looked for another idea. My sister produced bowling.
An out-of-the ordinary outing became even more essential after a crisis earlier in the week. My niece called me while I was at work, sobbing that her younger brother had smashed her left index finger in a door. What followed was a whirlwind of driving to various doctor offices before being left with only the ER to squash the fear that my niece's finger was broken. I sat in the plastic chair next to the bed where my niece and youngest nephew perched and while they watched the Disney channel on the room's TV, I mentally bit my nails in nervousness-wondering if this was the right thing to do and wondering how I was going to get my oldest nephew who was down in White Rock taking a ballet lesson.
The conclusion to this story was I did get my oldest nephew back home, my niece's finger was thankfully not broken and we were all in need of some major fun.
The Saturday morning we drove to Pojoaque to go to the bowling alley was bit chilly and windy. The day was dressed in sober colors. Despite this, my car was bouncing with energy. My oldest nephew was assigned DJ for the trip and he expertly operated his phone to serenade us with songs.
Entering the bowling alley, it was all but empty. A small group to the right of us and a couple to our left made up the remaining bowlers. Starting the game, it quickly became apparent that all four of us were skilled at tossing our balls, having them land with a loud thunk on the polished wood lane, and careening them right into the gutter. The TV monitor above us would broadcast our embarrassment. My oldest nephew came to aid of his younger brother, requesting that a set of low guard rails be risen whenever his youngest sibling played to ensure his ball wouldn't fall into the gutter.
As the game progressed; so did we. Soon the TV monitors went from gleefully taunting our gutterballs to shouting out congratulations. The scores were mounting. We would all whoop and high-five whomever had their ball demolish a wall of pins with a loud cracking sound. I even went against my earlier resolution to not purchase a single piece of food from the alley's fast food restaurant. My niece and nephews dined on tortilla chips and a cup of golden-yellow cheese.
The bowling alleys' cheeriness was rubbing off on us. I felt enveloped in a happy contentment I don't always feel. Watching my sister's children have fun and having fun with each other added a glow to the outing. So I snapped a picture of three young bowlers and sent it to my sister just to show how excellent her idea was.
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