Playing Doubles

It is only recently that Gerry and I have played more seriously as doubles partners   (meaning playing against opponents other than daughter and son-in-law).   For most of our tennis playing years, we played against one another across the net.

This year,  Gerry's men's group  needed a sub, and I filled in.  Somehow, I managed to get to be a regular in that group.  Different members travel and so different players come in and out of the group over time.

Right now, Suzie is the one who is subbing for a regular player who is out of town for a few weeks.  It is fun to play against Suzie.  For one thing,  she has passionate feelings about everything, and expresses them.  "I hated that game."  "I loved that game."

Experiencing Suzie's emotional reactions has caused me to reflect on why it is that I am so different.  It is an interesting phenomena.   I not only do not display very much emotional response to play,  I also do not feel much.  That is not to say that I am not competitive.  I am,  fiercely, and certainly want to win.

Upon reflecting, I figured this out.   For the first twenty years of my tennis playing life,  I played against Gerry.  I do remember times of being so frustrated and angry I wanted to scream and throw darts at him and spit fire. Then eventually,  for the sake of our marriage,  I learned not to really care. I left my emotions at home.   I  just went out to hit balls.   Over time,  I have gotten to the point of winning more and more of our games.  Now we do it for the exercise and for the love of the game.  And as it has turned out, we are a formidable team, even when we play against our twenty-something kids.

When we play tennis,  I feel like a real athlete, which is not something I have never felt before.  And I do love that feeling.    I hope we will be able to enjoy this sport for a long time to come!