Tennis, Anyone?

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Tennis is an intriguing sport. First off I love the scoring. What other game do the rivals start off with Love/Love? Fantastic! Each player is allowed a bubble space and I am a girl who likes her space. And to top it off you are each handed a weapon. Wonderful sport! Cor and I live in a nice neighborhood where we have access to tennis courts that we certainly don't take advantage of enough. However, here in South Carolina we are having some gorgeous days. I am from the North. When you are having a gorgeous autumn day with leaves changing bright colors and the temperature edging toward the eighties, one has got to enjoy the outside. So we grabbed our rackets and hit the court. Now part of the reason this is a great game for us is that we are somewhat evenly matched in our tennis abilities. And to you let you in on what part of the talent spectrum we belong, let's just say we won't be plannin' any doubles matches with Stefi and Andre anytime soon ;) Since we are just getting back into the rhythm of tennis we didn't keep score. But let's say we definitely were playing with some "Love"! Tennis is quite deceiving. You look at the court and go wow can someone really work up a sweat playing this itty-bitty square. Answer: Absolutely! You vow to play "friendly". I already mentioned you start off speaking love. But then there is something about seeing that obnoxious little neon bouncy ball come flying towards you. While your eyes focus on the whistling missile coming straight at you; a tightening starts in the gut that explodes and fires through your tendons through your racket. Your mission becomes "HIT that ball away!" - as quickly and as forcefully as possible. Then a calmness falls over you as you hear the satisfying ting of the racket strings connecting to the rubber enemy and watch it sail back over the net, safely away from your well-marked bubble. I can hear the applause now. Sometimes though the celebration ends quickly because here comes that irritating little enemy once again. Instinct takes over and you leap, pounce, and swing with all you've got. This rhythm continues. Until your body just hits that wall. The ball comes sailing over the net and your body turns to stone. There is no leaping, there isn't even reaching. You just watch the ball bounce and then roll away. That's when you look back at your tennis buddy and go, "Done?" and the usual answer "Yup!" You both walk to the net shake hands and go "Great game!" Ahh the beautiful civility to it all. May you have a partner who helps you enjoy the Love/Love of your HealthFULL Journey. And never underestimate the peace that abounds after whacking a fuzzy little ball with that satisfying ting! 'Til we meet again. . .