Life in a Gym

When I was little, I used to pretend that the Breathitt Coliseum was my castle. At that time, the goals were covered with blue mats and I'd climb as high as I could and then slide back down. The top part of the gym up next to the windows was the perfect place for me to hide. Many a book was read laying on those bleachers, and I've hid out in the girls bathroom too many times to count. I was always the "little girl with the pigtails in the cheerleading outfit."

I was raised on high school basketball. There's this picture of my Mom and my sister, Holly... Holly is just a baby and my Mom is standing up with Holly in her arms and one arm raised up... I'm sure she's probably yelling at the refs. So I come by it honest. I talked the other day about my love for football, and basketball is a close second. I don't know a lot about the game. Sometimes I get mad because I think something is a foul when maybe it wasn't. If a player walks and I know it, it's an obvious walk. However, after 12 years of scouting, I've picked up on a little. It's a good thing that I enjoy it, I guess. Otherwise Wallace and I wouldn't spend much time together...

And I'd by lying if I said that wasn't some of my favorite times. A lot of the time we don't even sit in the gym together, because Wallace is a politican (if you know him you understand) and goes from person to person talking. I tend to watch the cheerleaders, because it's never got out of my system. Even if I don't know anyone on the teams (which has happened, because I've scouted a lot of teams... or read a lot of books as the hubby takes notes), there's just something about sitting in a gym underneath those lights, the squeak of tennis shoes on that glossy wooden floor, the sound of the ball bounce, bounce, bouncing, of salty popcorn and the sound of the refs whistle.

Next week is the All A. Four more weeks until district tournament. Then there's that lull between basketball and football... spring volleyball for the middle school and maybe I'll pick up a love of softball from my "girls". But until then, guess I'll be content to sit on hard bleachers and keep on cheering. Wouldn't have it any other way =)