Today I get the pleasure of traveling through Washington, DC, on my way to a bowling tournament in Maryland. We don’t usually have to go through DC to get to Maryland, but there’s this one little tail of the MD that’s easiest to reach by heading straight through the nation’s capital.
My sixteen-year-old son could take or leave the tournaments. As a homeschooling mom, though, I made a choice to encourage (i.e. force) him to participate in a set number of with-kids-your-own-age activities each year, and bowling is one of those activities. He’s in a weekly youth league that runs the length of the school year, and he does 2-3 tournaments in addition. Youth tournaments are generally a Saturday/Sunday affair. Something about kids being in school on weekdays. Whatever.
It keeps us out of church a couple times/year, but I don’t swim in guilt over it. My son enjoys his youth group and would rather have all his tournaments on Saturday so he could be in church on Sunday. As long as he has that attitude, we’re golden.
So what are you up to today? Any exciting plans? (I know, I know. How could you possibly compare with me? Bowling is as exciting as it gets!)
Wishing y’all a day of blessing and grace!
~Heather
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Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
Hope you have a great time! I’m a little excited today! We are meeting some friends for lunch after church. They used to go to our church, but he is pastor in at another church, so we haven’t seen them in quite some time. It’ll be nice to get caught up! Hope your son does well in the tournament! :) Have a great day!
Have a wonderful day! Hubby and I are resting today. He had a tooth extraction on Friday and he is healing. Lots of soft foods like mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese and applesauce for him. Good thing I like all that food, too. :-)
Heather,
Bowling is fun! You actually are having more fun than me. I woke up thinking we’d go to church, but then I tried to move my body and decided no this wasn’t going to happen. You see yesterday my daughter wanted me to get a bit of exercise so she took me on a “short”” hike to a beautiful waterfall, only problem was it was up hill and a bit windy. So this morning I’m suffering from the offer uses.
I met my husband in a bowling league! He is a very good bowler, while I am just very average, but it is fun to do the league together now that we are married.
Good for you for being a bowling family! Both of my kids were in leagues for years! We didn’t do many tournaments but just hang out at the bowling alley was fun!!
I went to church last night so I have spent a leisurely day doing my devotions, reading, and walking almost 4 miles. I will spend the rest of the day & evening trying to finish Love Blossoms.
Happy Sunday! Usual happenings for us, church in the morning, watching the grand-girl while mom works, etc. Though today we didn’t have her, she was running a slight temp last night and mom decided to keep her home. Sure missed seeing her clapping her hands and dancing the worship music! Mom thinks it’s because she has a molar tooth coming in, poor baby. We prayed over her last night & again in church.
And bowling sure sounds good to me! Although I stink at it, I still have fun :-) Hope the tournament went well.
Congrats to all this weeks winners! Blessings on the upcoming week everyone :-)
I hope you enjoyed lunch with your friends!!
The bowling went okay. Not great, but okay. My son kept a good attitude and didn’t give up, so it was a win in my book whether the score sheet reflects that or not. :)
I hope you enjoyed a nice laid-back weekend!
I have a friend whose son recently broke his two front teeth. Luckily they were baby teeth, but he broke them off above the gumline, and the dentist had to go in and surgically remove the part that was still buried up there in the gums. His poor little mouth – every time he tried to eat or drink anything, he was bumping those swollen gums.
I hope your husband had a much smoother recovery weekend than that! And that the soft foods were delicious! ^_^
Ha! There’s no such thing as a short hike. Especially when a waterfall’s involved! ^_^
Eons ago, I convinced my family to go on a short hike with me. I’d read about it. It was 1.2 miles and ended in a beautiful waterfall. What the magazine failed to mention is that it was 1.2 miles for the crow. For us mere mortals walking on the ground it was way over five miles. We never even made it to the waterfall. We’d gotten a late start and had to turn back before darkness fell. We were on that trail for over four hours. The trail was mostly rock-hewn stairs – nice big deep stairs that you couldn’t step down normally. (At least, I couldn’t. I’m too short. My children had a hard time, too.)
The next morning when I got up, I brushed my teeth and did all that good morning stuff. Then I walked over to the stairs that would take me down to the living area of our rental. I look at them. Then, legs quivering, I sat down on the top step and said, “That ain’t happenin’.” I’m pretty sure I stayed there until my children started begging me for food. ^_^
For years afterward, anytime somebody would use the “h-word” my daughter would yell, “No! No! That’s a bad word! You can’t say it!” :)
I wish you a quick recovery from your h-i-k-e and muscles that cooperate pain-free when you tell them what to do! :)
Bowlers are the best people! We’ve been in youth bowling leagues in two states and to tournaments in a variety of places, and all I can say is – for the most part, bowling kids are good kids. Adults that bowl are usually pretty fantastic, too. Occasionally we come across a parent who calls their child up after every single ball to correct them and tell them what they’re doing wrong. That’s always hard for me. I’m a bit more of the cheerleader type mom. (It helps that I don’t really know much about bowling, so my best advice is usually “Take your time” and “Don’t let it get to you.”)
Anyway – I think it’s awesome that y’all met in a bowling league! I’ve always thought of it as a great place to build friendships, meeting different kinds of people, and just have a good time, but I’ve never thought of it as a hotbed of romance before. I’m totally telling my son your story. It’s bound to get at least one really good blush out of him. (He’s sixteen…) ^_^
I’ve made some of the best mom-friends at bowling alleys!
Three cheers for anyone who has (or has had) their kids in bowling!! ^_^
We usually do about two tournaments/year. I never gave it a ton of thought before, but once I started homeschooling (my son was in the 4th grade), I started making it a “house rule” that we’d do two tournaments/year. It was important for me to make sure he was getting out there among his peers in different situations and settings and that it wasn’t always the same kids he bowled with in his regular league. I think it’s paid off. He’s growing into a young man who is confident in his own abilities and comfortable in his own skin. Since I didn’t reach that comfortable level until I was 30 and had two kids, I figure we’re on the right track. :)
Sounds like a great way to spend the day Linda!! I hope you enjoyed it and were able to finish Love Blossoms! :)
Hi Trixi! I hope your granddaughter’s doing better today! Some kids are just fine when their teeth come in, and some get fevers, achy, and the whole nine yards. I hope her mom is right and that it’s only a tooth and nothing more serious – and that the tooth comes in quickly and without too much pain. :)
By the way – I’m no good at bowling, either. My average (were I to keep track of it) would probably be under 100. Which is why I don’t keep track of it… ;)
We had Sunday service, and then I started painting coat two on my dresser project (I’m not real happy with the results so I’m sure coat three is coming soon!!) I wish I lived close enough to DC to drive through! I’ve been once…with a 1, 2, and 4 year old in tow. I would love to take them again, but California is a looong way from DC!! Hope your tournament went well!
Hi Mandi! I’m glad you had a good Sunday. As for painting…I’ve never been able to pull off a two-coat job. ^_^ One summer I painted my daughter’s dresser set bright pink (with purple drawers). I got this nice expensive paint because I thought that would help me cut down on the number of coats I needed to use… No such luck! The end result was completely worth it, but my goodness it took a lot of paint to get it just right! I hope your project turns out magnificently!!