Bowling Mom

So I gave myself a new title this weekend...I am now an official bowling mom.  What is that you ask?  Hmmmm....I'm quickly figuring out it means I drive a lot and sit in bowling alleys 100% more than I used to.  (And why is it mandated that bowling alleys must be cheesy?  And is it bowling allies or alleys....Googled it...it's alleys.)

So some quick background information.  I'd like to equate being a bowling mom is a lot like being a soccer mom, but I have never been a soccer mom before.  I've only been a basketball mom, t-ball/baseball mom, swim team mom, gymnastics mom and tennis mom before.

And allow me to clarify, when I say I have been a sports mom, it means I have driven them to every practice, cheered for them at every competition, and bought them all the paraphernalia associated with those sports.  I was not however the awesome mom that organized stuff, sent out emails, watched the kids while sitting on the bench or any other such gung-ho activities that some moms are capable of.  In my head I was that awesome organized mom, but luckily I knew that keeping up with their schedule was all I could handle and I kept my mouth shut when it came to volunteer.

So I've had some time off and a new school year has started and I got a lovely little email that stated that my high school son could join the bowling team if he wanted to.  I asked him about it, expecting him to say no, and to my surprise he said sure, he would like to try bowling.

I thought bowling would involve throwing a ball down the alley at some pins a couple times a week and possibly having to buy some new shoes.  I also secretly envisioned that the fancy schmancy high school my son attends had a couple of bowling lanes hidden deep inside some dark corridor.  (It's a public high school, but new and overwhelmingly large.)

I have been a bowling mom for 3 days now and my head is spinning.  We can practice on this day for free, but on this day we have to pay at one alley.  We should join a league at another alley for extra practice (and extra money).  We need to buy shoes, and a ball, and by the way, only expect the ball to last about 6 months.  (Really, a bowling ball wears out?  What does that look like?  Does it start to get square and stop rolling?)

Also we might need to buy a little bowling toolkit and a bag to put everything in.  The team must have tryouts, but everyone will get on the team (and shockingly the tryouts cost money).  Oh and once he makes the team we have a fee we will need to pay.

Needless to say my head is spinning and the dollars are rapidly flying out of my wallet.  All this because of a casual, "Hey, would you like to bowl?" question I threw out there last week.

Now before anyone thinks I'm complaining, I'm really not.  I love seeing my son involved in something.  My husband and I enjoy a little bowling ourselves and this will end up being fun.  It's just making my brain hurt right now is all.