MY Rookie SEASON »»»»
“W
hat? Start a new sport now? Are you
kidding? I’m 77 years old!” I knew how
insistent my daughter could be when an
idea got a hold of her. So for good measure
I added, “And you know my bad shoulder won’t let me.”
“No, Mom, I’m serious. You have to try it.” She was
adamant. An avid athlete, she’d come back home from
Savannah for a visit, and had heard a friend was running
pickleball games at a nearby park.
Ridiculous. But I wanted to spend as much time as
possible with her, so I agreed to go. I’d watch her from
the sidelines. And besides, I had never seen a pickleball
game. I’d heard it was like playing ping-pong while
standing on the table.
My daughter knew well that if I could still play tennis,
if a torn rotator cuff hadn’t interfered in my life, I’d still
be playing as often as I could schedule games around
my teaching obligations. Tennis was my addiction. It
invigorated my body and satisfied my spirit. When my
kids were young, I’d started many summer mornings
with an hour of singles followed by two hours of doubles.
And on just as many summer afternoons, my kids would
declare, “Wow, Mom! You’re in such a good mood!” I
knew why.
Even the stresses of team tennis stirred me: the
challenge of conquering pre-match anxiety and
maintaining camaraderie amidst competition; the
pressure to perform for the team’s sake even as
I knew younger players would outrank me. I was
only a 3.5-rated player, but everything about the
game—especially the pure pleasure of playing—
rewarded me. So when the pain of that torn rotator cuff
banished me from the court, I assumed the pause was
temporary. After therapy—or, if necessary, surgery—I’d
be right back.
Not quite. Just getting a surgeon to operate on me
proved a challenge. The first two I saw declined to
accept me as a patient. “You’re not a case for rotator cuff
surgery,” reported Dr. First Choice. “Too much arthritis.”
Dr. Second Choice gave it a 50-50 chance. “Well, maybe
a little less,” he added. Dr. Third Choice left the door
open just a crack: “Difficult, but I think I can do it.” My
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