Man do I have a cocky little boy on my hands sometimes! (posted 7-21-07)

Well, I have to admit, I have a cocky little boy on my hands... I'm not sure why or when this happened but MAN! He's REALLY cocky!

Kev took him bowling the other night, which he thorougly enjoyed. Not just time with his daddy but it turns out he's pretty good at heaving the ball down the lanes. Now, he doesn't take a typical walk up and gently (but with force) roll the ball like one is supposed to when one bowls.

Let's get this in our minds shall we? Dalton picks up his ball, starts running toward the line and heaves it forward like a basketball. Now, his father tried to teach him to roll the ball, and truthfully when he takes time to roll it he does a pretty good job. He's not much in the aim department.(Well, who would be with the run he takes, cradling the ball in his arms hanging down in front of him.. He looks more like an arangutan trying to bowl with a very large bunch of bananas and his gait is oddly similar to that of an arangutan too... very disconcerting.)

Now all that being said, bumpers are a child's saving grace. If it weren't for the bumpers, the poor baby would have an average score of about 25, But, bumpers doing their jobs as they should for all small children, the child has a game average of 114 between Wed and Thurs. nights. Yes, you did see that correctly.... 114!!

Well, Kevin came home from their night two nights ago pumped up because the people who work at the bowling alley want Dalton to be in the fall league. Um.... have you watched this child?

And brag! OH MY STARS!!! (To be fair, I'm not sure who's the bigger braggart - Dalton or his father)

So Taylor, never to be outdone by ANYONE for ANY REASON (sound familiar), says, Dalton we should go bowling. Well, that's all anyone needed to say for little man. He's on that like white on rice. YEAH! We're going bowling!

Well, no, I say, momma doesn't have the funding for bowling tonight son.

But MOMMAAAAAAAAAA (pleading complete with puppy eyes)

No honey, sorry...

Mooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Dalton, Momma said no, not tonight.

Taylor: Mom, it's cool, I"ve got it.

Never mind that he's leaving for Longwood in a month and we still don't have his tuition covered, the child has competition on his mind and ego development too...(he can't stand a cocky kid - must be a mirror thing because Taylor too can be - not is, but can be - a cocky kid).

So, after dinner, off we go to the bowling alley.

Now, they're getting ready for leagues and if we go after 9pm the fee is reduced for adults and and and

Taylor says Yep! We'll be back.

Off to Tropical Smoothie to get smoothies (Mr. Moneybags again...)


Then to Ross to get some shorts for his trip Saturday (he and his best friend are driving to Nags Head for two days then to Gastonia, to see Rob, then home Thursday). Then to PetCo to see the pets and kill some time then to the bowling alley.

Three games he says. He pays for shoes and games in advance, gets Dalton his 6 pound ball (which of course he makes Dalton carry along with his shoes), and off we go to lane 38.

Now, this lane is so badly warped I don't know how a league plays here but it is, according to Taylor, warped HA HA HA Taylor is NOT happy. Dalton sets about heaving his ball down the alley (a whopping 5.25 mph was his fastest ball). Pins are just falling like slow motion dominoes... it's actually kind of amusing.

Let's give you a pictorial of my little guy and his "Dance of the Orangutan"...







Sorry about the bad color and quality but it was pretty dark in there and this was about as good as I could get it to be able to see this ritual.)

As you can see, he'd already knocked down (or rather dominoed) 7 pins - this was his attempt at the spare... and he got it.


What wasn't amusing was his attitude. "Oh yeah, mmm hmmm, I'm the man! Who's the man? I'm the man!" With a funky little dance.

Yeah - cute once or twice - more than annoying after two games. So, I gently remind him that NO ONE likes a bad sport and winning or losing, he's being a BAD sport. It's rude and obnoxious. He says "Sorry mommy!" and goes about his game. Third games wasn't so bad. What was bad is that he and his big brother were neck and neck. Now, giving it to Taylor, the third game he just basically was "throwing" the ball different ways to accommodate the warped lane. And in his defense, with Dalton's slow motion bowling, you could tell the lane was definitely warped to the right, then to the left, t hen back to the right. So, he was throwing different balls to see what really would work.

Never mind that the second game started out with a spare, a strike then a spare. He was proving a point. Yeah?

Here's my take on it...

Fact: Dalton's cocky becuase his daddy's cocky and thinks his child is a bowling prodigy. He pumped his chest up over it night before last and what little boy wouldn't be cocky after that display? It was like watching a peacock doing a mating dance. So naturally Dalton's going to be pumped up about it

Fact: Dalton uses bumpers and they help.

Fact: The same bumpers were up for Taylor and while he didn't use them often they did save the day a couple times for him .

Fact: Dalton beat Taylor two out of three games. Sad but true... Dalton scored a 107, 117 and 115. Taylor scored 101, 122 and 79.

Fact: Dalton's arangutan method of bowling might have something to it after all!

Yeah I've got a cocky little kid on my hands,but I think somehow, he may have earned it!