“What was I thinking when I wasn’t thinking?”
Easter 2008
“Mommmm? Where’s the volleyball net? The one we bought in Paducah?”
“You mean the one we never took out of the box?”
Kyle’s idea for us all to play volleyball together seemed like a bad one at first. I had not played this fingernail breaking game since 8th grade. There was a reason for this. I am not good at it.
“Have we ever played volleyball together?” Ken gives me a few pointers. “It’s our serve.” He sails the volleyball over the net. Marissa smacks it to our weak spot — me. I duck. Get it! Get it! But Ken doesn’t budge. Instead he gives me a blank stare. Marissa and Kyle crack up.
“You’re supposed to hit the ball not duck!” Their laughs get my adrenalin flowing. It is now Marissa’s serve.
BLAM! Little Miss Volleyball Queen punches the ball. I lay my palms together the way Ken showed me. This time I hit the ball — right into my nose. Ken breaks into a laugh. Are you okay? I tell him I am good — then I deepen my voice, telling my kids that I was just warming up…..
Marissa shifts her feet, spins the ball in her hand. I crouch like a spring ready to pop. I am certain Marissa is going to hit it my way. Ken whispers, “just hit it straight up — I’ll get it if you hit it straight up…..” I launch my arms hard into the air. Like rockets they soar directly above my head. The force is so strong that my legs do the Bambi on ice thing. As I fall with my feet sliding to opposite sides of our five acre woods, I quickly look through the net so I can see how far the ball has gone but it is still in Marissa’s hand. She faked me out.
Kyle is folded into her rib cage. She is cupped over his back. They look like fish hooks stuck together. Ken is in bent over in this same funky L-shape position… They are all wiping tears, laughing their butts off. It is one of the most beautiful moments I have ever seen. It truly made me wonder what I was thinking all those years I spent convinced that just because I wasn’t good at something, meant we couldn’t have a total blast doing it together anyway.
We, too, have had some hilarious family memories (at my expense, ahem) trying new things that I would normally never try on my own.
What a great story! And a wonderful reminder that it’s not the ‘whats’ that matter, but the ‘hows.’
What a wonderful, funny story. I’ll have to remember this next time there is a suggestion to do something I am not good at.
I love this story. I Love family time no matter what we are doing.
Tami
This reminds me of our family and our pickle ball “court.” We broke the net last year and haven’t replaced it yet . . . but I say it’s time. Game on!
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