Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Getting back into the swing of things

I didn't mean to run so soon after getting my boot off, but the other day as I was walking around the lake with Maddie, my feet just started jogging. (Really!)

I went once around (a mile), with Maddie by my side, and then walked another mile. I felt fine, and I made sure to just walk the next couple of days.

On Sunday, I played two sets of doubles on a clay court with Donna, Deb and Korby, friends from my tennis team. The clay felt great under my feet, like playing on cushioning. The first set, I felt rusty, and Korby and I lost 6-1. I was happy to be out there, but I slipped into some "negative self-talk"...can't do this, can't do that.

"Hey, we're just out here having fun," Korby said.

And Donna reminded me, "Look at where you came from. We thought we'd never see you out here again."

Oh, right!

Either I warmed up or the reminders relaxed me or both, but the second set was fine. Korby and I brought it to a tie-breaker which we ended up losing 9-7, but obviously at that point it could have gone either way, and I had found my groove and started having fun.

It got hot, and by the end I was ready to stop and have a frozen lemonade. Actually, true confessions, I was dragging a little.

I summarized for Meryl this morning, partially in jest but partially serious, "I played hard and then the next day I thought I was dying of something."

She reminded me that age is a factor here too. Oh, right again! Sometimes I kind of forget about that.

Today I will probably just walk again and try to do some exercises. (Boring.) Tomorrow I might go to a tennis clinic with George.

Maddie has been enjoying her walks. She always goes for a swim, and we have been meeting all sorts of interesting dogs. The other day we came upon a young woman with a chihuahua puppy named Little Dog. Sometimes Maddie doesn't react well to little dogs, so I warned the owner and pulled back on the leash.

But Maddie usually just gets ornery when a small dog is aggressive and barks. This one seemed oblivious, so we let them say hello. Maddie was very polite, seeming to understand the need for gentleness with a creature that was not much bigger than her head. They lost interest in each other quickly; I'm not sure they even realized they were the same species.

Things have been falling into place here, the long days providing a sense of ease.

The other night, we were are own little version of domestic harmony.

Joe cooked on the grill, Katie weeded in the garden and sang, and I made salad and puttered around.

All was well.

2 comments:

donna said...

Your evening with Joe and Katie sounds so nice. I had a good time too the other day on the courts. You played great and your angled volley at the net is back! Ungettable!!!!!

Robin said...

Awesome post! Glad you are able to enjoy being out there!