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.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Intervention by 5 year olds
This week, my five year old nieces came to visit, which explains the lapse in blog entries. They are twins and are easily the best children in the whole world. They play well together, travel well, and listen and follow directions. They're easy-going and up for any adventure. What more could an aunt ask for?
The visit began with a family gathering for my cousin's wedding. As a single woman who can see my 30s in the rearview mirror, I've been to my share of weddings by myself and they don't get easier. I always dread the inevitable question: "So, when are you going to get married?" I didn't expect the question to come from my 5 year old nieces.
As we relaxed in my hotel room before the ceremony, one niece remarked that I only had one bed in my room. I said, "Well, I'm only one person, so I only need one bed." The other responded, "But when you get married, there will be two people in the room." I said, "You know, I might not ever get married." Both looked completely befuddled, like I had just told them that Spongebob is actually not square. After years of Disney princesses who always get their princes, you could almost hear, "Does not compute, does not compute" as they tried to make sense of my response. Weakly, they said, "But everyone gets married."
I thought that would be the end of it. Nope. The next evening, my nieces staged an intervention over hot dogs, potato chips, and fruit - one of the few meals that meets with both of their approval. One niece informed me that I was "just a big kid," and asked, "Are you sure you're old enough to get married?" I replied, "Yes, I'm sure. In fact, I think I might be too old to get married."
The other said that I was just being silly, and both demanded to know why I'm not married. Ah, a question for the ages. I was forced to explain that people get married when they find the exact right person, and I hadn't found the exact right person yet. One niece advised, "Well...maybe if you put on a dress, then someone will think you are cute and will ask you to marry him. If he's not the right person, you can just say, 'no, thank you.'" I said that I would take her advice under consideration.
But they still weren't done. Over dinner last night, they made one last ditch effort to convince me to get married, and quickly became concerned about where this man would sleep. One niece pointed to my office where they'd been sleeping and said, "Well, that's our room, so I guess he'd have to sleep with you." I said that I didn't want to share my bed and she responded, "Well, we have bunk beds so we can sleep in the same room." The other niece chimed in, "Yeah, and sometimes, when I get scared, I sleep in her bunk." So, it's settled - if I ever get married, I'm getting bunk beds and the man can sleep in my bunk only when he gets scared.
I blame my cousin's wedding and Disney for all of this. Meanwhile, as I type this out, my downstairs neighbors are playing with fireworks in the parking lot. I'm hoping that they don't burn the building down or blow up my car. Hopefully, they won't set the sidewalk on fire - a story for another time.
The visit began with a family gathering for my cousin's wedding. As a single woman who can see my 30s in the rearview mirror, I've been to my share of weddings by myself and they don't get easier. I always dread the inevitable question: "So, when are you going to get married?" I didn't expect the question to come from my 5 year old nieces.
As we relaxed in my hotel room before the ceremony, one niece remarked that I only had one bed in my room. I said, "Well, I'm only one person, so I only need one bed." The other responded, "But when you get married, there will be two people in the room." I said, "You know, I might not ever get married." Both looked completely befuddled, like I had just told them that Spongebob is actually not square. After years of Disney princesses who always get their princes, you could almost hear, "Does not compute, does not compute" as they tried to make sense of my response. Weakly, they said, "But everyone gets married."
I thought that would be the end of it. Nope. The next evening, my nieces staged an intervention over hot dogs, potato chips, and fruit - one of the few meals that meets with both of their approval. One niece informed me that I was "just a big kid," and asked, "Are you sure you're old enough to get married?" I replied, "Yes, I'm sure. In fact, I think I might be too old to get married."
The other said that I was just being silly, and both demanded to know why I'm not married. Ah, a question for the ages. I was forced to explain that people get married when they find the exact right person, and I hadn't found the exact right person yet. One niece advised, "Well...maybe if you put on a dress, then someone will think you are cute and will ask you to marry him. If he's not the right person, you can just say, 'no, thank you.'" I said that I would take her advice under consideration.
But they still weren't done. Over dinner last night, they made one last ditch effort to convince me to get married, and quickly became concerned about where this man would sleep. One niece pointed to my office where they'd been sleeping and said, "Well, that's our room, so I guess he'd have to sleep with you." I said that I didn't want to share my bed and she responded, "Well, we have bunk beds so we can sleep in the same room." The other niece chimed in, "Yeah, and sometimes, when I get scared, I sleep in her bunk." So, it's settled - if I ever get married, I'm getting bunk beds and the man can sleep in my bunk only when he gets scared.
I blame my cousin's wedding and Disney for all of this. Meanwhile, as I type this out, my downstairs neighbors are playing with fireworks in the parking lot. I'm hoping that they don't burn the building down or blow up my car. Hopefully, they won't set the sidewalk on fire - a story for another time.
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