Sniper Mom Parties On

So my son's 11th birthday party began with a few setbacks. First, I was told that the party room I had reserved was somehow occupied and that the seven boys I was taking to laser tag would have to eat cake and pizza and then run around. I was less than delighted and expressed this with great vigor. So, they comp-ed the party and let us do one mission before cake and two after. I was prepared to pay for the third since they had already comp-ed the rest, but didn't have to. That was pretty great.

Other initial setbacks: when one kid arrived his mom said he had been throwing up all day but really wanted to come to the party. She advised me to bring a plastic bag in the car. He threw up before we left, nearly making the sink in time. Then he threw up right after we payed the toll. But he did great on his missions.

A third setback: one kid refused to go in to the briefing room because he was afraid of the dark (I wonder if there is any connection between this and the fact that his dad is in Iraq.) He finally went in and had fun.

I guess the heavy rain and fog shouldn't be included in the party checks and balances. You can't predict the weather. But, we had to drive over an hour, so I think we can put that in the minus column. On the other hand, Paul had a carload of boys who were no more distracting than Zizek was when Paul took him to the airport under similar weather conditions, so maybe that's a plus.

And, I'm not sure whether the great, great pleasure I took in being a sniper is a plus or a minus. Nothing like shooting kids and strangers with a laser gun in a dark maze. I was so intense about it that I got a really nasty blister on my trigger finger. My daughter, a tiny 7, oddly scored negative 27 points. High scores were over 300. I think this makes her a casualty.

I'd like to suggest this as something for faculty or student groups. But, they'll probably say its too militarist, too violent. Too bad. I love being a sniper.

PS: I should add that despite her low score, my little daughter (although she'll be 8 in about 3 months she wears like a size 5) was a fierce player. Since she's small, she could sneak up on people and shoot them in the back. One victim turned around, confronting her, saying, "what's up with that little person?" Her response: "I may be small, but don't call me little."

Comments

[Lynn]

A blister on your trigger finger? You may want to think about a career change. I hope it isn't in my neighborhood though.

If you ever start a new blog, Sniper Mom would be an awesome title. Who could resist reading that one?

[Jodi]

That is a good title. Hmmm .... your comment reminds me of a ps I need to include in the post.

[Nate]

hi Jodi,
I've only done laser tag once or thrice but it was super fun. My wife and I used to once in a while go to this arcade in Chicago on Sunday that had $5 for 2 1/2 hours of all you can play. They had this really terrible (but really awesome) video game called "silent scope" where you shoot terrorists and stuff. I was always disturbed by how much I got into it. It had a telescope thing you look through and everything.
take care,
Nate