THOUGHTS.........OF THE PAST

I was never really into sports... all through grade school and into highschool.

I was on a volleyball team when I was 12 and 13 cause my school was so small ( a Baptist school in Mankato, Minnesota) that I had to be on the team so that we could have enough players!

Anyhow, I ended up being the top cheerleader as well (mostly again because I was the smallest out of the lot and they could pick me up and toss me around). But this got me into sports. My first sports experience as a top cheerleader and volleyball player!

Later as my little brother got older and wanted to play, he started playing tennis; so naturally I started to play. And I became a decent player. We went for tennis lessons every Saturday morning at 5am for 2 hours. Our instructor said that my brother had talent and I had "potential". Everyone knows what that means! :)

But funny as it may seem, I ended up starting my own intramural volleyball team at my University. And believe it or not, but we won! It was so great to be able to start a team and to be the team captain. I had so much fun doing it and it made me open up a lot more.
Later that year, I joined a club on campus which focused on volunteer work in the community. I worked so hard and was dedicated to the club. It made me feel good to help others. The next year, my sophomore year, I was voted as Vice President of the Volunteer Organization.
My Junior year I became President of the volunteer organization and Director of an Income tax class (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance).
Becoming Director and President of a club on campus gave me opportunities to go to Leadership Seminars which were held overnight on a Lake in Upstate New York.
I feel that in those years I really grew and became a very different person from when I was in grade school.

The next 7 years flew by so quickly. I don't know what happened. I went to Podiatry school and was so immersed in the school and in my studying, that I neglected all sports-realted activity. I continued to work out occasionally, especially when I had my orthopedic rotation for months at a time. But I never joined a team and I believe I may even have lost my leadership skills.

After residency, I started working and that consumed me. I wanted to do well and I wanted others to see that I was capable of doing well. So I immersed myself in work. Later that year, I met someone whom I married 2 years later.
He brought out that leader that was hiding in me. He had always been athletic growing up and excelled at sports... cricket, basketball, tennis, soccer; you name it and he was at the top of his team! Needless to say, I started to play more sports. We started to play volleyball together and I found that I was actually pretty good! And of course I started to play tennis! My years playing tennis when I was in highschool all came back. I joined a league with my husband and we started to meet some amazing people. He joined his own leagues through work... basketball and soccer.

Now we are having the time of our lives. We try and incorporate some physical activity into our lives on a daily basis. It has not only helped our relationship, but it has made us feel more complete as individuals.
Being on a team is a whole new experience. You strive to do well for your team mates and for yourself. If you do well, your teammates encourage you to do better and if you fail, you know that they will be there to support you.
We had our end of the year party last night for my Maywood Tennis Team. I will miss them. And I will miss the team! We pledged to keep playing during the year. But even if we don't, I know that I have grown from my experience and I will continue to play and meet more people and teams.

Thanks Team! I'll miss you.