For The Love of the Game
My sons and I stared at the scoreboard incredulously while my newly minted three year old pumped her fists in the air. The rest of us didn’t feel like dancing in the dark to the pop tunes blaring from the speakers anymore. None of us were feeling the neon strobe lights either.
Somehow this little girl had just smoked us all in bowling. And not just regular bowling, but Candlepin bumper bowling. There were no awkward, heavy balls or open gutters that we could point at for our loss. She even chose a practical twirling dress for the occasion and didn't even wear the official bowling shoes.
It was here carefree attitude about the whole thing that was most annoying.
The rest of us sweated it out and gave our best effort at the line every time. Swinging our arms straight forward and back, aiming for our ten pins, looking where we wanted the ball to go, doing the classic "move over" bowling arms to magically guide our ball, strategizing and making the most of our three attempts per frame.
She, on the other hand, went up to the line cradling her little ball and threw it onto the lane in a variety of unprofessional ways. The drop and roll, the double handed “granny” toss, and the sideways heave ho. There was no aiming and no plan. We literally fed her the next two balls right away because each ball rolled so slowly we had to wait for what felt like ten minutes each time she took the line.
Then we’d watch in amazement as one ball after the other, slowly but surely, knocked down nine pins almost every time along with a spare. We thought it was luck at first, but frame after frame she out-bowled everyone one of us.
Towards the end of the game, my oldest son said, “forget it, I’m doing it her way”. Sure enough, he started scoring higher. Suddenly she wasn’t the only one jumping up and down and shouting, “Yessssss!!! I LOVE bowling!!!”.
Maybe she’s onto something. Maybe it’s the reminder we all need this week. What if you stopped trying so hard and had more fun? Of course, this applies to food and your body, too.
Adopting a little bit of the let’s just see how this goes plus I'm just here to have fun mentality can go a long way. That particular food didn’t sit right? Try the drop that food and roll onto the next option. You felt like you couldn’t get your hand out of the Girl Scout cookie sleeve last night? Maybe the heave ho approach of eating more food throughout the day to ensure satisfaction at every meal/snack is the answer. Tried on a pair of jeans that didn’t fit? It's time to find your affectionately labeled “granny” pants for more comfort.
Using this carefree mindset is all in the name of love for our game of life. I’ll see you on the lanes this week. I’ll be the one dancing while I wait my turn.
PS. Happy Valentine's Day! A reminder from me to you... please keep loving yourself no matter what. Even if your days, weeks, months or the last year have felt dark. And don't be fooled that self love is all we need when it comes to food and our bodies. We need wholesale change at all levels to overhaul our society’s view and treatment of people in larger bodies. It’s not an individual problem, it’s a systemic problem. That said, give yourself a hug. Sending love to all my dear readers <3.
