THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

No, it’s not Disneyland, at least not for me. It’s a 78-foot long, 36-foot wide rectangular flat surface with a net stretched across full width, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends; or in other words, a tennis court. Well, that’s what I thought until this morning. Instead of tennis it seemed as if I were playing golf or baseball hitting line drives, of course, it didn’t help that it was 46 degrees outside.

Although my family played a lot of tennis, and my brother, Don, even became an instructor, I never got into the game until after my senior year in high school and two heel surgeries later. As a matter of fact, I didn’t do much physical activity prior to that time, but after the surgeries there was an appreciation for still being able to walk and soon started running and taking tennis lessons. One of my instructors (no, not my brother) told me that a professional career could have been possible had I started playing five years earlier. Gillette saw talent in me and soon I wanted to know everything about the game and began to watch it, read about it, and at times even dreamt about it.

Never was fond of high school and had enough credits to graduate a year early and did not plan to go to college. Worked for almost three years until a church friend talked me in to going to Oklahoma Christian College with her and being roommates. After checking in and doing those first day of college tasks, we toured the campus and to my delight saw the tennis courts not far from the dorms. Well, for the rest of the year, that is where you would find Debbie if not in class, studying, sleeping, or eating. The weather was never a factor and hat and gloves came in handy. For those of you who’ve never been to Oklahoma, it can be snowing in the morning and sunny and hot in the afternoon. No wonder I got strep throat.

That year was quite memorable. 1) I had my first boyfriend, Mark, who turned out to be a jerk, but sadly passed on a few years later so out of respect should not elaborate any further. 2) The education was thought provoking and never had studied the Bible so thoroughly. Seemed to know Matthew and Acts completely (though I know that‘s not possible). It’s sad that I can’t say the same thing now. 3) Beaming from ear to ear was I after hearing my name called during a school assembly in the chapel and walking down to receive a second place trophy for intramural tennis. I never had won anything before except a medal for outstanding typing in high school. 4) Being the top seed on the women’s tennis team; however, some of that WOW factor is lost when I admit there were only two of us, but Cindy played on a high school team in California, so I can be proud nonetheless.

I haven’t played much since my college days and was still using my Wilson Chris Evert wood racket until this summer. So as not to look like an obsolete dope, switched to a bigger head racket which I must admit is easier on this 50-year-old body. Now it’s all about power, but these rackets don’t seem to have the same touch as the wooden ones. Tennis is not as popular as it once was and to me Agassi was the last great player to leave the game, but really, is all that grunting necessary? Nevertheless, I’ll be at that backboard again in the morning, hopefully not looking like a golfer or a baseball player.

Remember, you can still find joy in those things you used to do well.

[Note: Thank you so much for checking me out and the nice things you have said. I want to personally acknowledge Greg, for making it possible for many of you to find me. And those of you who don’t know about this awesome preacher (his one-liners are great), you can find his blog at www.gregengland.com. Time is a factor, but I’ll do my best to respond to your comments.]