“A medium that brought my sister back to me.” One sibling’s story.
In honor of #NationalSiblingsDay on April 10, we’re celebrating all brothers and sisters who meet in Walkabout Mini Golf to catch up, perpetuate their sibling rivalry, and just to be together in ways that calls or texts can’t do. Particularly, we are sharing a very moving story from two twin sisters separated by 1,100 miles and the dark expanse of grief who rediscovered one another in the course of play.
At a Denver player meet-up, we were approached by a woman who introduced herself as Ronda, who literally grabbed us by the shoulders to tell us the most moving story about her and her sister Tonda. Afterward, she recounted that in a message to our team:
“In February 2022 my twin sister's husband of forty years passed away very suddenly. Tonda was bereft and became very withdrawn. Her children and I worried for her. She lost interest in all the things she enjoyed and only left her home to attend work. She is a cardio-ultrasonographer in Plymouth, Indiana. She often stayed in bed all day when she was not at work.”
Apparently, one of Tonda’s sons showed her his Meta Quest headset and it piqued her interest so much that she decided to purchase a headset for herself. Ronda was introduced to VR not long after.
“My sister and I have always been extremely close and speak normally everyday. (We grew up in Texas, but life took us to different parts of the country—she to Indiana—me to Denver). After her husband's passing, I would call her as usual but she didn't talk much. So when she told me about her VR experience, I was amused and cheered that she had an interest that distracted her from her severe grief.
She insisted on purchasing a headset for me so that we could be together. We are not "gamers". We are 58 years old. I am a kindergarten teacher. I do embroidery and read real books with pages in them. I am not especially tech savvy. But ...we played tennis, but she still didn't talk very much.
One day, she discovers Walkabout Mini Golf. She calls me very excited and tells me that we have to play. She sounds....happy. My sister sounds HAPPY! So we play. We aren't golfers but we play and I hear my sister laugh as we are playing. She laughs! We play for hours! We discover new courses! We laugh at each other's mistakes and cheer each other on when one of us gets a hole in one! Slowly my sister begins to talk while hanging out in these beautiful places, and she talks, and she talks.
We hunt for lost balls (her favorite) and do the Foxhunts (my favorite). We marvel at the beautifully crafted scenery, laugh and ride sea turtles and gondolas, and search out the skeletons. We learn to fly and spend an afternoon just flying around our favorite courses. She processes, she talks, she laughs. My sister laughs. I buy us matching Walkabout shirts and stickers. I go to visit her and she sets up a tiny mini golf course in her back yard. I bring my VR headset so we can play in the same room while I am with her.
She brings her VR headset when she comes to visit me in Denver. My husband thinks it's hilarious to watch us in my living room as we're swinging our custom clubs and laughing our heads off. In Walkabout we are together no matter how far apart.
The tradition grew and grew until it spilled over into other parts of their lives. The beach ball from Welcome Island and other courses especially started popping up in each other’s mailbox, on handmade crafts, etc. Like many other siblings the world over, Ronda and Tonda have created new weekly and sometimes daily traditions of meeting in Walkabout Mini Golf, going on adventures like they did when they were younger, and just simply occupying the same space to play. Ronda says it best:
“We will always connect when we get home after our respective jobs and download the newest course to play together. I am so thankful for what you have done. You are more than a "game" to us. Thank you for the laughs, the talks, the quests, and for sharing with us a medium that brought my sister back to me, and the beach ball.”
