Nana has Magic Shoes

"You don't stop laughing because you grow older. 

You grow older because you stop laughing."

Maurice Chevalier

In these days of vicious politics, plunging stock markets and scary infections, it is nice to have a comfortable place to turn. Down here in way eastern NC, we have a degree of isolation that feels safe. 

In addition, all the old ladies in our group have been preparing for years with gloves, masks, disinfectants. We had to !!  Our new cherubic grand babies were trying to kill us!

We've also got stockpiles of food, outdoor containers of fresh greens,

plenty of wine. But in my opinion, the best safeguard we have is pickleball.

What? 

In the past year our group of friendly, outdoorsy neighbors has started playing a game that is a cross between ping pong, tennis, and badminton. It is easy enough for old people, but will give you a real workout. The rules are a bit obscure, and the scoring seems designed to be an exercise to prevent dementia. It gets the competitive juices flowing. It gets (almost) all of us out in the fabulous fresh air regardless of temperatures. It has become an obsessive pleasure we need not even feel guilty about!

We've had our learning curves. There have been a few falls, bumps, bruises. There are minor complaints about knees, hips, tendons. You know....the kind of topics we were gonna be talking about anyway, but with the game happily in common. 

We've indulged in clothes and equipment and shoes revolving around pickleball. Just recently one of our regulars, who had fallen early on in play, got a new pair of shoes to steady herself. All of a sudden, she could get to every ball. She could volley cross court. She could return a laser serve with equal speed. Maybe she was just getting incrementally better. But we were convinced there was magic in the shoes.
A new grandmother superhero was born that very day. 

Another of the regulars is tall and extremely coordinated. That serves her well when she comes to the net to volley. We've nicknamed her "the Wall". She can get to most any ball whether the paddle is in her left hand or right- and she uses both. When "the Wall" approaches, she is rather intimidating. Most of the time I am already laughing when she gets to the net. Once in a while I can get a ball back, but I usually dissolve after that. It's hard to take a mean swing and a giggle at the same time. 

There are plenty of other characters, quirks, and anecdotes I could recall. Most all of them are funny. Bad bounces, bad bumps in the crummy cement court we play on, goofy swings, absolute misses, forgotten scores all add to the hilarity. It gets worse when we're getting tired. This is the most serious game not to be taken seriously; the team sport that relies solely on the good nature- not the skill- of each individual. It is an exercise we relish to build our muscles and our mood. 

While waiting for an end to the election cycle, or a beginning of the new vaccination cycle, give me some buddies on the pickleball court. Because, as someone once said, 

"Laughter is the best medicine!"