Dear Grandkids,
200 Pop Pop Epistles. I have thought long and hard about what #200 should be about. After all, 200 is kind of a milestone. So with that in mind, it only seems right that it should be about… pickleball.
Kind of surprises you doesn’t it. Kind of surprises me as well. But read on.
I have been hearing about pickleball for several years now. Evidently it has been around for awhile – having been invented back in the 1960’s by two dads looking for a way to entertain their bored kids. When I first heard about it, it seemed to be a game for people who had gotten too old to play tennis. But now it has kind of become a national sporting phenomenon. I have heard (and Mr Google confirms this) that it is by far the fastest growing sport in the United States.
There seems to be several reasons for this:
1) How can you not love a game that goes by the name pickleball and in which the people who play are called pickleheads?
2) It seems to be a game that values the social aspect of sports more than the competitive aspect. Which is not to say that it is not competitive but it puts “playing together” at a premium.
3) You can have fun playing even if you do not consider yourself athletic.
4) And yes, it is much easier on the body than tennis because the size of the court is so much smaller.
All that explanation to say that I played pickleball for the first time yesterday. My 65 year old self played with three twenty-somethings and I was able to hold my own. Not the best on the court but not the worst either. I can definitely see myself playing on a regular basis as a complement to my twice a week disc golf forays. I know what you are thinking – retirement sounds awesome. Indeed it is kiddos, indeed it is – even if it is only the “semi” kind at this point.
Here are a few things that I was reminded of about myself after my pickleball adventure yesterday:
- I enjoy exercise much more when I am doing something like pickleball rather than doing pushups in my living room or riding an exercise bike.
- I love to win – but I don’t mind losing. In other words I don’t think you would ever classify me as a sore loser. I enjoy seeing other people win as well.
- At 65, I am blessed to have good enough health to do something like pickleball and disc golf – which I don’t take for granted.
Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, once said that “life is more fun if you play games.”
I don’t disagree.
Next you are over here perhaps we can go play pickleball together. Or maybe invent a new game that will one day become a national phenomenon.
Never forget that you are very loved,
Pop Pop