Getting the Game On with the Kids

Today, I discovered child care at the tennis club. Child care! Tennis!

I knew they had child care, of course. But I had relegated it to some option for mothers whose children actually do things like go to Wkids without requiring their parent be paged ten or so times during the hour long grocery shopping visit. I figured it would never happen for me. Not a chance.

But as my game has improved, so has my circle of tennis friends. Many of my tennis friends live pretty nice lives that basically consist of husbands who work, children who go to school all day, and a mommy who plays tennis everyday. (Sometimes twice a day!) My tennis friends have started asking me to play tennis with them on my Mondays and Fridays at home and this, well, it's a little bit like offering crack to a drug addict. How can I turn down a game?

Tennis! During the day! Oh my, the possibilities. But, first guilt set in. Mondays and Fridays are my mommy days with the boys. Is it fair for me to use this time for me? I wrestled with this for awhile, but as Chris gently reminded me, it is for all of an hour and a half. I have all day with the boys. I then reminded myself that tennis, while I love it, is still my exercise. I have a whole lot of guilt built into how much I enjoy tennis. You are supposed to hate exercise and if you love it, well then, it is selfish. But, I need to remember that exercise, in any form, is good. It is even better when you enjoy it. It keeps me healthy. And a healthy mom is a better mom.

But what to do with the kiddies? My tennis friends regaled me with wonderful stories of the child care available at the club. While it sounded lovely, they have never seen what I go through when I try to just use Wkids for an hour. I couldn't believe we could do it. But I took a deep breath and started to sell it to Brennan and Griffin like a saleswoman possessed by a greater power.

"Hey guys! Guess what?! On Friday, you are going to get to play in a very special room FULL OF TOYS at the place where Mommy plays tennis! They only let very special boys play in that room. VERY SPECIAL. And the toys are AMAZING! You will love it! Doesn't this sound great?! Doesn't it! It is!"

The boys stared at me with untrusting, wide eyes as Chris nudged me and told me I may be overselling it, just a bit.

I kept up my sales pitch right up until this morning when we left for my tennis date. The boys seemed underenthused, but we made it into the child care room without incident. In fact, after meeting the babysitter, seeing the huge window in which they could watch me play tennis to their hearts' content, and viewing all the new toys which they would have to themselves, they barely said goodbye to me.

I figured I would get called back in a half hour or so. My odds of a full match were not good.

As I played, I would see one of their heads pop up in the window every so often. Brennan and Griffin would wave to me, smile and then pop back out of sight. Time passed and before I knew it, the whole hour and a half was done.

We made it. (And I won too. Whooohooo!)

I flew off the courts, ran up to the child care room and was greeted by two smiling, content little boys playing happily with the tennis babysitter. I was floored. The babysitter assured me they were great, and told them she hoped they could come back soon.

As we left, Brennan asked me, "Can we come back to play again Momma? It was so much fun!"

I think we can have that arranged B.

Yes, and faster than you can say "game on", I had scheduled the child care for the very next Friday and accepted an offer for another match. I feel like I may have found my very own, little slice of heaven.