Play Ball!

I was a ball player. Basketball. Volleyball. Especially softball. At one point in my life, before I was married and had kids, a large part of my life was spent playing ball. I loved it. Loved the challenge. Loved working on my shot. Loved that I could shoot a 3-point shot with the best of them. Loved pitching hard enough to strike out my opponent. Loved spiking the ball home and sending the ball over the fence and driving the lane for an easy lay-up and stealing the ball away from an unsuspecting point guard. And I found a fair amount of success through my hard work. Earned lots of awards and honors. Played college basketball and softball on scholarship. Was honored on the college level for three-point shooting and pitching. The thrill of playing ball is in my blood. But, I haven't played ball for a long time. The last time I tried to play--about 2 years ago--I was so out of shape that I could barely make it up and down the court, let alone get off a good shot. It was embarrassing and disgusting, so I stayed away for awhile. I miss it. But I'm not sure I realized how much I missed it until tonight. After work, Matt, myself and the kids headed over to the gym for a night of ball playing. We practiced batting and catching and dribbling (both basketball and soccer). We had fun. Lots of fun. Yes, I felt very out of shape. Yes, I was breathing hard. Yes, it was harder than I remember to bend down to field the ball. But it was good. A good type of tired. And I think that I reconnected with part of myself that I want back. I want to feel that competitive athletic streak again. I want to be able to make my body work for me. I want to feel strong, like I could drive past anybody for the score. Like I could strike out any batter. I want to drop at the end of a game, tired and sore and spent. Yes, I really miss playing ball and realized tonight that just because I'm nearing 35, just because I am a Mom now, and just because I'm no longer on a competivie team, this can still be a fulfilling part of my life. And I want to instill the joy of playing ball into my own kids. I love that my daughter can slam a line drive at the age of five and that she can already dribble pretty well with both hands. I love that my son loves batting and can dribble a soccer ball better than I can! Our family is rediscovering together the joys of playing ball, and it is sure to help us along in this quest to be more intentional about exercising together. It's not just that I WAS a ball player. I AM a ball player, just waiting to come out and play. Life is short. Play ball. And play hard.