A war broken with a bone

Ah Summer. Monday nights I’ve been enjoying some outdoor volleyball. Mostly guys so it works out great for me. I wish Taylor would come with me but he’s too shy. Oh brother. Anyway, playing volleyball with the guys has been a lot of fun. No one is particularly good, but there is for sure a fair share of “inexperienced” players with us. Most of it is laughing and breaking a sweat, my kind of fun. The park is huge complete with lots of trees, green grass, dogs, squirrels, and little girls playing softball.

I can’t help but think back about my days of playing. I started in 5^th grade, which in little girl time meant I was way behind. Most of the girls started at 4 years of age and some younger could practice with their big sisters in diapers. Naturally I wasn’t great, but I was not the worst! Both years I played outfield and the 2^nd year I got better enough to play short stop and 2^nd base. It was really exciting to know I was getting better and the girls on my team were really sweet. It also helped I played for Orange league because the Villa Park league had all the bratty girls I knew in school. Orange is such a sweet place to grow up and I would say it defines suburban middle class the best.

On a side note, this was 5^th grade. I’ve chronicled my friendship with Jenny before, but most people do not know we used to hate each other. She was friends with this girl named Jessica. This girl was a year older, and by far the meanest girl I knew. Her mom was friends with Jenny’s mom through church (go figure) so they were friends by association and to my dismay. I called Jenny Goldilocks, they would call me clown feet and back then the situation would mean war. I never really knew for sure why we hated each other, but that is how girls are you know? Bratty, catty, and emotional little kitties. Oi vey.

Back to softball, I’m the middle of a game. The other team had a lot of older girls, including Jessica! Crap on a stick… by that point in the game I had batted myself to second base and was about to head for third as my teammate hit the ball. The 3^rd base coach was egging me to run as fast as I could. Well I guess something changed because he got deer in the headlights eyes and told me to RUN BACK! RUN BACK! As I turned and ran back to 2^nd base, I saw Jessica. Of course she was the basemen! Of course she had the ball! But what I didn’t know was how hard she would push that ball in her glove into me. She pushed me so hard I fell on my wrist and ankle at the same time. Oh the wounds of war.

My ankle hurt the worst, but I could slowly feel the pain creep up my wrist. I sat in the dugout and contemplated my fate. Would I try to bat next turn, or would I tell our team mom I was too hurt? I chose the ladder. What’s worse than telling someone you’re wimping out of game? The team mom telling you that you have to bat or else because Miss Suzy Always “Sick” is sick again. We did not have another alternate so I made my way to the practice area. By now my wrist was really hurting. I tried a couple practice swings and quickly realized things were only going to get worse if I continued. All of a sudden, the game was over. The girl before me struck out and 3 outs made the game finished. I was not sad we lost; only sad I was not home yet.

I had pain all through the night and the next day. During my weekly Bible class work, I told my mom for the 42^nd time that my wrist hurt. After telling me for the 42^nd time that there’s nothing she could do, (even if I went to the hospital they would just give me ace bandage was my parents’ reasoning) she had had enough. They finally took me to the ER and low and behold a broken wrist. My parents are not the kind of people you can say I told you so to easily so I just kept my screaming inside. I was just happy to know it was going to be fixed.

They gave me a sling, my whole class signed it and I was cool for a little while. The first cast I got was bright neon green. They took that one off after 4 weeks and it wasn’t healed yet so the next one I got navy blue. Things with Jenny obviously got better because we’re still friends to this day. Complete opposites, but we get along famously. I don’t know what happened to Jessica. The last I heard she was going to be sent to boarding school. In my romantic head she went there, straightened herself up and graduated with honors. She went to a great school specializing in her interest and met a really swell gentleman. They got married and she’s expecting their first baby this Summer. Who knows really.

Have you ever broken a bone? Did you need a cast? Be honest, you liked the attention didn’t you?