Who Knew?

Today, I woke up and willed myself to attend my first Pickleball lesson. It was a good thing the instructor was a good friend! I got dressed and put the tennis shoes on, worried that my bunions would hurt. I do not wear normal shoes most of the time unless you call flipflops a normal everyday shoe even in the winter! I was anxious. How would I do with this in these shoes. I had purchased shoes especially for today. They are knit, slip ins, and wide width in order to help the sides of my feet from rubbing and creating a blister or two. The shoes felt good and I walked with stability.

My other thoughts turned into, what if I make a fool of myself? What if I fall down? What if I can’t hit the ball? What if the instructor makes me go first? What if I don’t know anyone? My anxiety was high when I walked into the gym. I tried to smile and fake confidence as I have done so many times before when put in a situation with other people I do not know. Luckily, the instructor offered some encouragement, and I felt at home before we started learning how to play.

We learned how to serve first after an overview of the history of Pickleball. I didn’t hit the ball hard enough at first to get it over the net, but by the end, I was nailing it almost every time (except for the three times I fanned it and the instructor let me have a redo!). Learning how to keep score was my nemesis! I had to remember. You only get a point if your team served the ball. Then you also had to tell if you were server one or two. Good grief. I was just concentrating on hitting the ball! They just need to have a scorekeeper.

As I drove home, I felt happy. I had played this game with new people who were very nice, had held my own being the oldest player with everyone else probably twenty-forty years younger than me, and had felt invigorated. I may have some sore muscles tomorrow!

Later…