Friendly Game of Volleyball

We did not make it to the Altus Air Force Base air show, but we did have a rather busy weekend. Toby had a deadline to meet and had to work almost the entire weekend - while the mice did play. Saturday morning we met with my son and his little family (more on that later) and his in-laws who are also our good friends. It was Ernie's (Sara's dad) birthday and he wanted to meet for breakfast - good choice. We had breakfast at Golden Corral while the grandchild kept us entertained.

After breakfast everyone went their separate ways. Jesse and I did a few things around the house before heading to the lake with the kayaks. We paddled out across the lake and back. Although the weather was pretty warm, we did well and had a nice time. Next, we headed over to the Johnson’s to play volleyball. Usually the moms sit around in our lawn chairs and hoot and holler for the young people while chatting and sipping soft drinks. This time, the young folks needed an extra player to make the teams even. Yeha, I got to play. My team was a pretty salty group of kids which included a new girl whom none of us knew (she had been invited by one of the Johnsons). It turns out she was a really good volleyball player and really gung-ho to the point of being a little intimidating. She was bossy and pushy and yes, irritating. She treated us like we were "less than okay" volleyball players. Now, I am a pretty competitive person, but through the years I have worked to tone that part of me down. You could say that I have mellowed somewhat, but the truth is that I just have learned to enjoy life and games for what they are. This was not an Olympic beach tournament – it was good friends having a good time. When the new girl yelled at me to get out of her way so she could spike the ball when the ball was clearly mine, I could feel that old-self rising up in me – that stubborn streak, that "like hell I’ll move!" attitude. And so, I did not get out of the way, but stood my ground. Fortunately, we lost by two points and had to sit out for a few games and chill. There was a part of me that was not sure if I wanted to play anymore with this girl, but there was another part of me that refused to back down from a fight. This was more of a fight with myself – to control my self and be nice to her. As the evening went on and we continued to play our little tournament, the girl began to lighten up. She remarked on how honest we all were and things got better. I wondered if she could see what an amazing group of young people she was with. They accepted her and treated her nicely. They continued to play like they always do – enjoying each other – with our homemade rules and lack of refs. There was competition, but it was good-hearted competition. It turned out to be an enjoyable afternoon.

Oh, I should mention that at one point we divided up into teams of twos. Once again I was needed to make the teams even. There was one young man who did not have a partner, so he was stuck with me. We played a fast-pace game of volleyball where it was two on two. As a team lost a play, they ran off the court and a new twosome ran onto the court. The challenge was to see how long a twosome could stay on the court. It turns out that my partner was amazing. We won the most points – held the record. Yeah, the old lady did pretty well. It was quite satisfying. Jesse said she was glad I did not embarrass her (me too).

On Sunday Bo, Sara, and Lizzie met up with us again before heading back to The City. Sara said she was going to go give her father his birthday present, but she had to tell him that he would not actually get the present until Toby's birthday in January. Do you know what that means?