Alive and kicking

Snap, crackle, pop ... While that used to be associated with the sound of Rice Krispies, it sounded like my bones this morning when I tried, after several attempts, to get out of bed.

I realize I am older now, but sometimes I forget that just because my youthful enthusiasm is in high gear doesn't mean my body has gotten (or can get) out of low gear. Case in point -- our kickball tournament yesterday.

Yes, kickball! Remember the fun we had playing that in grade school? Jim remembers playing on the blacktop at St. Lawrence and I remember the grassy field at Oak Hill elementary school.

A group of us at work thought we'd relive those memories and formed a team for an adult kickball tournament over in Scandinavia (near Iola). What we forgot was that grade school was 20 or 30 years ago for some of us! A fact our bodies remembered today.

We quickly realized in our first game that it is not as easy as it looks. It is hard to kick that ball and keep it on the ground. And it is hard to throw quickly or accurately. It didn't help it was in the 90s yesterday either.

We dropped to the losers bracket after the first game and then started to strategize. In our second game we had a guy kick first in the "batting order." I then bunted to advance him and the pattern worked out well. We scored 3 runs in the first inning -- the only time we scored in that game, but it was enough to win.

In a double-elimination tournament, we felt the pressure in the third game. I did especially because I was pitching and they weren't kicking balls -- only strikes. So I had to roll strikes. Again, not as easy as it looks! The game was quite a showcase of defense. We were tied zero-zero at the end of 7 and went into extra innings!

Honestly, we didn't have much left to give. It was our third game of the day. We were hot, old and tired. But we hung in there. The other team finally scored a run in the 11th inning and we couldn't reciprocate. That was the end for us.

As we did in 6th grade. It was time for us to take our balls and go home. The only good thing is that as adults, we go home to air conditioning!