Historic Game

Today I went to pickleball. I didn't have a ride or a car to use, so I had to borrow my sister's bike to get there. It had been quite a while since I last played. At first, it showed.

I played a game of singles with "the man". Actually, several games. The first game, he beat me by quite a bit. The second game, I was warmed up and we had a fierce battle. I was up 10-9 on a game to 11. I needed to score one more point. We went back and forth exchanging serves, nobody scoring. Eventually, he ended up beating me in overtime.

During a doubles game, my partner tried to hit the ball I had just hit and ended up nailing me in the back of the head with his paddle, a sort of welcome back to pickleball moment. It hurt quite a bit.

After playing some doubles games, the man and I decided to play some more singles games.
This time, I wasn't quite as ready. He beat me two games in a row. I didn't even score a point in either game. However, during these losses I got warmed up again and my pride was in need of some redemption. We played one last game. I was up 10-3. I needed to score one more point to win the game. We both were playing hard, he didn't want to lose, and I wasn't going to lose again.

My mom showed up at this crucial time in the game to give me and the bike a ride home. She was trying to get a picture of the battle, but the camera flash was throwing me off, temporarily blinding me as I tried to hit the ball. Even with this distraction, I was finally able to score the game winning point. I had won, and he had lost for only the second time in his past couple years of playing pickleball. It was a historic moment, one my mother was there to see even if she almost accidentally cost me the game.