by Paula | Jan 25, 2015 | Uncategorized
Those of us that are tennis enthusiasts have been avidly watching the Australian Open. The world’s best tennis players are strutting their stuff in the first major of the year. As the tournament shifts in to the later rounds, the quality of play becomes increasingly intense.
These players are world-class athletes. Tennis at that level demands dedication, conditioning, power and skill; as well as the ability to perform at a high level under incredible pressure. I can not think of another sport that pits two individuals against each other for hours at a time–in front of a crowd of thousands of people in the stadium and another million (or so) watching on TV. (In contrast — no one has ever come to watch me play — even when I played a match 2 blocks from my house (humph)).
Women tennis players have not always made equal prize money to the men. Billie Jean King and others worked hard to improve conditions and compensation for women, and wow – the women have responded. From Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and more… women have raised their level of professional and sheer athleticism to heights that were virtually unimaginable not so many years ago.
Professional Tennis players are young and extremely fit–which makes them more attractive than your average demographic. I’d certainly be lying if I said the only thing I admire about Rafa Nadal was his lefty forehand. These guys and gals work out and you can’t help but notice the results.
Which all leads me to the Eugenie Bouchard controversy. For those of you that have not been following professional tennis in recent years, Eugenie is an incredibly talented young player from Canada. During the post-match interview after one of her wins last week, a male reporter asked her to ‘give him a twirl of her skirt’. Really? After her display of athleticism, skill and power, you are mostly interested in her skirt? The request was as cringe-worthy as someone asking Roger Federer to take off his shirt or flex his muscles for the camera.
Eugenie’s best response will be on the court. The woman has game. And, maybe next time she’ll give the clueless reporter a closeup of her backhand instead of a ‘twirl’.
by Paula | Jan 20, 2015 | Family, Uncategorized
I’m told There is a proverb: May you Live in Interesting Times.
We gave mom a beautiful send-off last Saturday. She would have loved the flowers, the music, the pictures, and the testimonials. There were tears and laughter. In tribute to her life-long passion for music, we had several beautiful songs by wonderful musicians; including a couple pieces by the chamber choir that Guzzy is part of, and I joined them for the benediction
It was a very well-attended service, with relatives and old friends, some of which I haven’t seen in decades. Unfortunately, I was so busy with the logistics of the service that I didn’t get a chance to talk with everyone.
We invited everyone to our house afterwards and I was able to visit with those who came out. A big shout-out to Dan who (as promised) was the host with the most — making sure that guests were greeted and beverages were flowing; so I could chill. We ended up with a TON of leftovers from the official luncheon as well as a big ham we cooked for the occasion. People left our house with zip lock bags with pounds of food in them.
The 21 month-old grand-girls did very well with all the commotion of the day and with an abbreviated nap. We enjoyed a more relaxed day with them on Sunday. Dan and I babysat for a few hours so their parents could go out for dinner. They do keep everyone hopping! I once read that watching small children doesn’t require a lot of concentration, but it does keep you from concentrating on anything else. I think that sums it up quite nicely.
Little X1 was particularly charming–wandering about the house, saying ‘hi’ with a big smile. She also played several songs for us on the piano. Both girls will frequently hand me a book and then back into my lap. Little X2 is prone to dramatic melt downs when things don’t go her way. Usually she can be cajoled into a better mood with some cuddling and/or play time, but not always. For awhile she and her sister enjoyed ripping petals off a couple flowers – and X2 thoughtfully pressed some of the pieces into her ear. Sometimes you have to make your own fun!
Everything was supposed to be back to normal by Monday morning. However, in the wee hours I got violently ill. By the time I am writing this (wee hours on Tuesday)… everyone in my house is very sick. After about 24 miserable hours, I am starting to feel a bit better; but Guzzy and Dan are still down for the count. It’s rotten timing – Guzzy has end-of-semester papers due and finals, and Dan has an important interview in the morning.
2015 has certainly been interesting thus far. In fact, I am hoping it gets more dull for awhile.
