Family un-togetherness

Stock.xchng/Photo by Mei Teng

Recently, my sons joined the Easter Seals of Central PA for weekly  bowling night.  It so happened that their first games were on the night of my daughter’s birthday.  We dropped the boys off at the bowling alley, then took my daughter out for dinner and shopping.

Again, fun was had by all!

It was so great for my husband and I to have “alone time” with my daughter.  Going to to a restaurant was both cheaper and quieter.  Meg had our undivided attention.  She and I got to giggle, ooh, and ahh as she tried on and modeled clothes in the Target dressing room, and I marveled at her early bargain-hunting prowess. She and her Dad got to cuddle in the restaurant booth.  We are looking forward to these bowling nights.

Also, going bowling without the parents will do wonders for my sons’ self-esteems, especially that of my 11-year-old’s.  We are wanting him to have social interactions without the parents hovering present. We also want him to be independent and not “need” us so much.  That means our letting go and letting him, as well as his brother, be free.

When we arrived home later, Philip remarked, “I’m just a boy who loves bowling.”  Meg answered, “And I’m just a girl who loves shopping.”

I am excited to see all of my children mature and become independent, claiming their own identities, learning what they like.  I am hopeful that these coming Wednesday evenings will be a piece of the puzzle (no pun intended) of their becoming independent adults.