Thirteen days and counting.......

I play tennis on a 4.0 women's team that plays out of Ft. King in Ocala. Three of us live here at Harbor Hills and drive together to the matches. It is a great bunch of ladies, and we have a good time together. As the newbie on the team, they have made me feel very much a part of things.

We started the season with a full roster, but we've been dropping like flies, and now I'm on my last two matches before my surgery. As the surgery gets closer, I am more aware of how life is going to change, and how much I will miss the tennis and all of the activities that revolve around tennis, both with Bill and me, since we play tennis together a lot, as well as with my tennis teams.

Although I am hesitant to play on this knee competitively, the brace is still keeping me on the court, and a live body, even a gimpy one, is better than none. So we travelled together today to Gainesville to play our match. I left the house at 7:10 this morning (yuk!). I am a morning person in that I have an internal alarm that wakes me up early.....I'm just not ready to be good company then. But, off we went. We played our five doubles positions, and won three of them, so we won the day, and my partner and I won as well. It's always good to have a partner who can run, and it is also gratifying to win when you are not at your best, and to have a partner who supports you even when you don't get to that drop shot......again. Then, the celebratory team luncheon at a local Gainesville pub, where some of us have been known to have a beer with lunch, and on to the long drive home. It's a full day.

I find, though, that the tennis takes its toll on the knee, and the rest of the afternoon is spent in less than productive fashion. (Nap, anyone?)