30 Days of a Thankful Heart {Day 17} Roller Derby

I think I am in love…with roller derby and the awesomeness that are roller girls!

Photo courtesy of True Grit Roller Derby
http://londontips.ca/true-grit-roller-derby

A little over two years ago I was catching up on my Netflix movie list and I received Whip It in the mail.  I’d heard of roller derby before, but this movie put a whole new spin on it. Plus I ❤ me some Ellen Page (of Juno fame.) I was so intrigued!

I spent hours Googling roller derby and checking to see if there were any local teams.  There were! I asked The Hubs what he thought of the idea of me as a roller derby girl were.  He smiled and kind of laughed, and said, “You’d be good.  What about softball?”

Hmmm.  Was that a compliment or a diversion?

The idea and fascination remained just a lovely, awesome dream.  We were busy living life, getting adjusted to a new place, first ministry appointment, and our rapidly growing 9 month old.

But oh how dreams cling to the soul…

Want to Add a Little Sunshine to your Week?

Well, I got my first blog award!  Whether you put much stock in these awards or not, I’m proud to claim mine!  Thanks to Wendy Reid for offering up the chance to win the Sunshine Award!  I recently started following her great writer’s blog, Wendy’s Works.  You should stop by and check out some of her work!

Wendy was recently awarded the Sunshine award by submitting a flash fiction story of 100 words or less.  Instead of then choosing 10 people to pass the award to, she set the same challenge to her readers.  Submit a flash fiction story of 100 words or less, containing the word “sunshine,” and you were eligible to win the award.  If less than ten entered then everyone was a winner.

I figured, what the heck, I’ll give it a shot.

Some Things Never Change

So Aaron and I just got back from our first softball game in the co-ed league for Asbury Seminary.  I think we barely qualify for a co-ed league considering that there are only 2 females on each of the four teams.  We are the token minority.  It’s okay though, and for at least the first few games, I can use it to my advantage.  You see, no one at the seminary really knows about my history; softball and I are old pals.  So, when I get up to bat, at least the first time, the guys creep in, thinking I’ll swing, pardon the phrase, like a girl.  Burning them gives me great joy!  Then, if I get the ball in the outfield, the guys usually think that means extra base, not realizing that I am about to nail them with the perfect throw.  Ahh, sweet satisfaction.

I played fast-pitch softball the majority of my life; competitively for 14 years, two in college.  I have since played about 4 seasons of slow-pitch, but it had been about a year since I had played.  Needless to say, it felt great to get back out on the field.  It’s still strange for me to get to a game without having practiced everyday for at least 3 hours, and I have to admit, it shows sometimes!  I’m glad I can rely on natural ability right now, because I need a few games to shake the rust off. 

I’d tell you our team name, but we don’t really have an official or even semi-official one; the closest has been either Dan’s team, or Team Mostad, which is our coach and fellow seminarian.  Tonight we played Team (enter name of coach here), and we lost 11-9, which I didn’t even realize until we got home, and I asked Aaron; the game was pretty relaxed, no scoreboards, and I’m not sure if there was a scorekeeper, other than the ump.  Did I mention I was the only girl on my team tonight?  Amy, the other token, wasn’t feeling well.  If I already didn’t put enough pressure on myself to prove to the guys that I was one of them, just prettier, I now had the lucky position of odd-“man” out.  Well, I wasn’t left out, as I played the whole game, but it felt strange to look around and see no one that shared the same chromosome as me.  By the end of the game however, I claimed my spot, and I even found myself amused at some parts of both my game and the game in general that have not changed.