"MORE THAN A FIRST TRY..." in THE REALITY SOAP: AFTER DAD'S FUNERAL

I went to play bowling with some friends and colleagues at work last Friday night. It was the very first time I tried the sport. I grew up watching Dad playing it for some years ago. Still, just watching wasn’t good enough. Trying it out was a different story. How did I play it? Badly, of course, as expected. Not all first-timers make quick miracles. Some are natural, some need to do a lot of drudge work along the way. Everybody’s different. It had taken me a while to have finally got the hang of it. (Well, sort of.) A best friend from one of the other teams that night came up to me and suggested that I try a different strategy. I watched the way he swung his long arm forward and listened to him. Then I gave it a try, again and again. Well, not so bad. Sometimes I could hit a few pins, other times not. (I did strike all of them once, though.) Quite an improvement. “Well done!” He came to me again and offered a high-five. I took it and then gave him a hug. He hugged me back briefly. “Thank you.” “No problem.” Then he returned to his team and we want back to the game. Of course, the only thing I’d won that night was an experience. It was all good. It’s funny how random things can remind you. They said I should’ve relaxed more. That’s true. Don’t fret too much about my own flaws and just enjoy the process. We all have them and (have to) go through a lot of them. No one should ever push us – especially to meet their unrealistic expectations. The only person to do that to us is – and should always be – ourselves. That too can be a problem, though, especially when one doesn’t know or remember when to take their break. That will be an even bigger problem if they collapse one day out of exhaustion. I’m always up for doing my best – especially with things that I really love. That’s okay, though. They say that’s the only thing one can do. What if the result is disappointing? Well, that’s life. We can’t have it all. We can only do our best and try again to make things better. Improve and develop our skills. Accept that some things just don’t always go our way. After all, it’s not the end of the world...yet. Anyway, I had some fun that night. We had a good laugh. I didn’t care that I still had to work early in the morning after that. Some things do take time. Some require practices. Speaking of practices, thank God my once stiff shoulder has finally recovered...

R.