another try

Martin and I are going bowling in 2 hours. We're attending a classmate's birthday party. Martin has only bowled once before. His teachers report that he had a good time once he stopped throwing a fit about taking turns. When I told him about today's party, his immediate response was, "You have to wait for the arrow to take your turn." He didn't say, "Wow, that sounds fun."

Martin had the same trouble this past summer when we signed him up for T-ball. I thought I was being really smart in choosing T-ball over soccer. Little kid soccer is total chaos. I figured that Martin would be stressed out by the lack of pattern and order. Instead, we tried T-ball, a sport with discreet tasks. Pick up bat. Swing it at ball. Run to first base. Wait and run some more.

I forgot about all the variables. For instance, the coach altered the batting order every inning. There are also foul balls that mean you should not run. When on base, you have to wait for the next batter to hit a fair ball, something Martin found hard to judge. Just when are you supposed to run?

T-ball is also boring. Boring like bad calculus lectures or waiting in the dentist office. I accompanied Martin to his post in the outfield. We waited as all the children on the other team batted. Perhaps one ball would make it to the outfield grass. Even then, Martin wasn't sure what to do with it. He was bored. I was bored. And I knew when the inning ended we would only return to the bench to find a changed-up batting order. It was pretty disastrous. And totally public.

Bowling today will be lower stakes. All the other kids at the party are on the spectrum. The bowling alley is tiny with just a few lanes. There will only be a few kids to take turns with and the order will stay the same. And bowling is more fun than T-ball. But that doesn't mean it will be a picnic. Wish us luck taking turns. If the luck doesn't come, I've got candy reserves to ensure immediate happiness.