Wimbledon

I got up this morning and decided to enjoy Breakfast at Wimbledon. My plan was to spend the morning in front of my new TV, watching the men's finals. I watched the last part of last year's match and was disappointed when the underdog, Rafael Nadal, fell short. I decided to watch this year's rematch to see if he could finally beat the tennis machine that is Roger Federer.

I sat down at 9:30AM. The two competitors had just started their warm-ups and I settled in. As Nadal broke Federer's serve in the first 2 sets, I read through the Sunday paper and completed the crossword. I thought, "This match should be over by noon, and I can get on with my day." Then, Federer came back. I decided to make a marinade for my chicken that I'd planned for dinner.

Then, the rain fell in London. I decided to take a shower. An hour later, at around 12:30 my time, they resumed play. I started a load of laundry. A friend called and asked what I was doing. I said I was watching the Wimbledon finals. She laughed and said that she hadn't watched the finals for several years because the last time she watched, the match took all day. I laughed and said that Rafael Nadal was doing well and the match should be finished long before "all day."

As if he heard me, Nadal stopped breaking Federer's serve. They went into a tiebreaker. Federer won. I decided to make zucchini bread. While it baked for an hour, they played to another tiebreaker in the 4th set. Nadal lost again. There would be a fifth set. I groaned. It was now around 2:30 my time - 5 hours after my initial commitment.

The announcers in London noted that the skies were clouding up again as I enjoyed a warm slice of zucchini bread. I said, "It's clouding up because Roger Federer is evil!" It's not that I have anything against Federer - it's just that Nadal hadn't won at Wimbledon and Federer already has 5 gold cups at his house. Time to give someone else a turn. As Georgia imitated England, thunder rumbled and the rain fell outside my apartment. And, there was a second rain delay at the All England Club. I decided to make up a squash casserole for dinner.

Finally, at around 3:30 (8:30 London time), they resumed play. I folded my 3 loads of laundry and put clean sheets on my bed. I called my friend back and said that I was STILL watching tennis. It was tied 7-7 in the 5th set. Yes, 7 hours after I first sat down, I was still watching the same tennis match - and it still wasn't over. She did not stop herself from saying, "I told you so."

But, finally, as night started to fall in London and the clouds parted in Georgia, Rafael Nadal won. My 8 hour marathon ended - and not in disappointment. I did feel bad for Federer. He played hard throughout the 4 hour 48 minute match. But, in the true spirit of little kid's soccer, he got a trophy just like Nadal. This time, Nadal got the big cup while Federer got the platter. And I enjoyed marinated chicken, squash casserole, and zucchini bread for dinner - not on a fancy silver platter. And I'll sleep on clean sheets and have clean clothes tomorrow.

I did not make it to yoga today. I'll go tomorrow, since there won't be any tennis on TV and I've finished all of my household chores for the week.