Most of my nights during elementary school were pretty predictable: Dinner, homework, reading and then lights-out at 9pm sharp. Thursdays, though, were a shoe of a different sole.

My mom was a single mom, and she didn’t get out much. On Thursdays, though, she bowled. So on Thursday nights Perry Mason and I spent hours playing video games, watching pool sharks, eating nachos (or begging our parents for nacho money) and gazing into the fancy bowling balls in the pro shop. We usually got home around midnight, so I was always tired at school on Friday mornings.

Weird, maybe, but it got us out of the house and out of Mom’s hair for a few hours.

Despite all that time spent at the lanes, I never really did any bowling myself until I was quite a bit older. And I certainly never became what you might call passably skilled in the sport. (My sister-in-law, on the other hand …) It shouldn’t have surprised me when Poppy bested me the first time I bowled against her. Nor should it have surprised me that she has beaten me every time sense. That child isn’t about to waste her bowling hours on pinball.

The kids and I have actually done quite a bit of bowling this summer, thanks to the AMF Lanes’ free Summer Unplugged program. I signed the kids up last month so Poppy can hone her game on two free games every day. (As can Pete, but he’s more Dude than Walter when it comes to the competitive arts.) I wanted in on the action, too — because who doesn’t love getting your pins handed to you by a 7-year-old? — so I bought their $35 summer pass, which gets me and three other adults two daily games as well. It’s a pretty good deal, and while I probably won’t be staying at a bowling alley ’til the wee hours again anytime soon, it’s a fine way to spend a hot summer’s afternoon.