Pickleball
One of the delusions I had about my retired self is that suddenly I would want to exercise, like really crave it. This is similar to the delusion I had about suddenly having the burning desire to clean my house. Neither of these things has happened; shocking.
Today I tried pickleball at the YMCA. I do attend Pilates classes there twice a week (if I wake up in time...), and my more motivated husband plays tennis three times a week. He's been retired much longer than I have, which explains the difference in our levels of motivation. Anyway, he encouraged me to give pickleball a shot at the 9:30 a.m. session. His tennis ends at 9, so he figured he and I could learn together. There are so many reasons why this was NOT a good idea. First, and honestly, most important, my husband takes medication for his heart. I really do worry about him doing too much. Second, the instructor told me after our session that he discourages couples from learning pickleball together. I understand that!!! Third, years ago, when my husband and I were first married, he tried to teach me tennis. His verdict: I have no hand eye coordination. I haven't tried tennis since.
I feel compelled to interject here that I am left-handed. In a world of right-handed people, this has been a challenge. At pickleball today, I discovered that my left-handedness leads me to backhand the ball. I think it's from all those years of turning my wrist clockwise when writing so my penmanship was up to the Palmer Method standards (damned nuns and their rulers...).
I did the best I could, and I will not give up. Here's how the session ended, at least for me: I fell. I said to everyone, "Well, that's it for me. Once I fall, it's time to go." When my husband came home, he told me that after I fell, the woman who was playing next to me fell, too. The coach came over and discovered that the floor was wet (it wasn't me...honest, it was a water leak). Damn!!! If I had known that, I could have faked a really serious injury and sued the heck out of the YMCA!!! Another missed opportunity.
Bottom line: I will go back, and I have asked my husband not to join me. I think it's best for both of us if he sticks to tennis and I stick to mastering my hand eye coordination...and staying upright.
Today I tried pickleball at the YMCA. I do attend Pilates classes there twice a week (if I wake up in time...), and my more motivated husband plays tennis three times a week. He's been retired much longer than I have, which explains the difference in our levels of motivation. Anyway, he encouraged me to give pickleball a shot at the 9:30 a.m. session. His tennis ends at 9, so he figured he and I could learn together. There are so many reasons why this was NOT a good idea. First, and honestly, most important, my husband takes medication for his heart. I really do worry about him doing too much. Second, the instructor told me after our session that he discourages couples from learning pickleball together. I understand that!!! Third, years ago, when my husband and I were first married, he tried to teach me tennis. His verdict: I have no hand eye coordination. I haven't tried tennis since.
I feel compelled to interject here that I am left-handed. In a world of right-handed people, this has been a challenge. At pickleball today, I discovered that my left-handedness leads me to backhand the ball. I think it's from all those years of turning my wrist clockwise when writing so my penmanship was up to the Palmer Method standards (damned nuns and their rulers...).
I did the best I could, and I will not give up. Here's how the session ended, at least for me: I fell. I said to everyone, "Well, that's it for me. Once I fall, it's time to go." When my husband came home, he told me that after I fell, the woman who was playing next to me fell, too. The coach came over and discovered that the floor was wet (it wasn't me...honest, it was a water leak). Damn!!! If I had known that, I could have faked a really serious injury and sued the heck out of the YMCA!!! Another missed opportunity.
Bottom line: I will go back, and I have asked my husband not to join me. I think it's best for both of us if he sticks to tennis and I stick to mastering my hand eye coordination...and staying upright.
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