My tennis match today was shortlived - wiped clean in two straight sets, but the sound of my feet sliding in the clay and a few good shots made the bright sun and the breeze worthwhile, even if the performance left more in the space between my ears instead of on the court (where you should leave it all) - teh Bausch and Lomb Women's Tournament starts this week, and it is funny to play on the same courts that Venus Williams or Anna Kournikouva might be playing, although I am certainly not as sophisticated or anywhere near as good as those players, the tourists oogle as they walk by the courts looking for a superstar - unfortunately, all they saw was a middle aged guy with a gray beard prancing on the court (I use prancing as a graceful way of saying fat guy sweating) hitting home runs out of the courts.
After the match, the most exciting thing is going to the ocean. At Amelia, you are never more than five minutes away from water, and you have your choice of heated pools or naturally heated oceans - I chose the pool at first, throwing my daughter in the air until she would laugh so much that she had to take a break (or drown from inhaling too much water) and then give my son a "steam roller" ride through the pool until the bottoms of my feet hurt from the concrete pedicure...the ocean was warm today, but there were no shells to hunt, no sharks teeth to be found, it was calm, and the shells sensed that there would be better breaks to shove them onto drier ground, so apparently they just stayed in the deep water. My kids raced down the beach, smiling, laughing, jumping, skipping, just excited to be close to water and hanging out with dad. I have to admit, I did little of the above, but was pretty happy to be with them as well - the weekends are full of them, and I can only think of a few things that I would rather be doing (and some of them include them)...
Texas was a whirlwind of exhaustion this week, too little sleep, too little time, and too little relaxation, but there were those nights where it was wonderful to lay in bed and just be there. The quiet time between 1:00 am and 7:00 am are always the best hours on long trips - there is a warm soft bed, a breeze pushing through the window, and just a few hours to fight off sleep, and enjoy where you are. The schedule consisted of repetitive training sessions, dinners, and the obligatory gallons of alcohol, but none the less, I would go back tomorrow and enjoy those bright orange sunsets across the open Texas plains.
Easter is a funny day for me - I used to get excited about it - we always had new church clothes, and shoes even - and as a kid - those were a big deal, new suits to look nice for Jesus, the excitement of ham and fruit salad at Grandma's house, and thought of the hollow chocolate bunny rabbits that were a staple at this time of the year. Being agnostic sort of pushes that away from me now, my wife still likes the thought of re-birth - I prefer the thought of new awakenings, new experiences, new friends, and building new lives around those things that are important. I don't think necessarily that the religious folks are wrong, I just think that draping a wooden cross with a purple cloth is not anywhere near as redeeming as waking up, stretching, and like any other Sunday, being thankful that your family is healthy and your children are ready to play. This Easter, I am working on a resurrection of my own - of things in my life that always were good, but were pushed back and sold off in return for stability and the American Dream - my savior is in the form of a glass beaded spiral and auburn brown flowers and pinky blue skies and sweet southern honeysuckle - those are the things I look forward to, even Chef Boyardee Microwave meals and Vanilla Swiss Almond Ice Cream make me think of a re-birth of sorts - they are good and simple and pure -
My birthday falls on a normal day, but some birthdays fall on those special holidays - and I suppose and Easter child is a wonderful way to celebrate re-birth and renewal - the little boys and little girls enjoying the wrapping paper crumpling in their little hands as their annual fix of trucks and dolls litter the floor - countless children wrestling over shiny trucks or golden haired dolls. I have never been to an Easter birthday party, but I can assure you, that would be better than any church service - watching a young boy smile widely as he pushes a truck across the ground, watching his mother and father smile widely as he giggles from all of the sugar - that is resurrection, and every year around this christian holiday - maybe one day I will be able to make an Easter Birthday - this year, I would like to think that I was at someone's - (although I was apparently not)...
I never really made it to Chinese Food - I made it to the Ocean - but there were other things that needed to get on paper - and Chinese Food is exactly like many other things in life - you take it in, and a few hours later, all you want is a little more...
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment