Oh man, am I gonna be sore tomorrow. Summer league volleyball started tonight, and I had a total blast. And am going to be completely wrecked tomorrow.
I played volleyball in college. I wasn't very good or anything--I basically walked on and bothered the coach until he gave me an eensy-teensy little scholarship (which, if I remember, is how I got most of my scholarships in college). I'm not very tall, and my nickname was "Spaz." My school was NAIA, and I only played for two years because my third year I studied abroad, then graduated early. So, basically, I kinda sorta played college volleyball. Whatever. I loved it. I loved playing, loved my team, loved traveling. When I graduated, I really, really missed it. But I didn't play again for over ten years.
Then, two years ago, I signed up to sub for a league. I wasn't sure I'd even know how to play anymore, so I didn't want to fully commit to a team. Nobody called me, so I just started wandering around the park looking for teams who needed a fourth player, and stepped into a few games.
I left that night walking on air. It wasn't like I completely kicked ass, but I hadn't made a fool out of myself either. And I had fun.
I couldn't play last summer because I was hugely pregnant with Nolie, but when a team I used to sub with called to see if I wanted a permanent spot this year, I jumped on it.
"But you're so busy," Eric said, raising his eyebrows. "And we're moving. Are you sure you want to play now?"
Yes, yes, and yes.
The girls on my team, Esther and Becca, call me "Mama," which makes me laugh. Because when I'm out there flailing around on the court, I totally forget I have two little kids. I forget I'm 32. It doesn't matter that I pee my pants a little when I swing too hard, or that my knees ache for days after playing, or that I'm a little chub-chub around the middle. I feel like I'm 18 again, no responsibilities, no cares, no cellulite. I'm transported and transformed.
We lost pretty bad tonight. Most teams have two guys and two girls; we have three girls, and our guy didn't show. So we were at a disadvantage. Esther and Becca were pretty bummed when we lost all three games. But I was smiling and laughing the whole time. I was just happy to be outside on the wet grass, in the cool air, running around like an idiot, and playing as hard as I could. Winning just wasn't the important thing for me. Not even close.
That said, we are going to cream them next time. 
