Oh balls

I have long lived the philosophy of "have fun, don't fall down." Until this summer.

I decided that because I have a kid who plays soccer, maybe I should kick the ball around now and again. So I joined an adult co-ed team.

Oh. Good. God

Adult soccer is much quicker, more physical. The field is bigger and the summer sun intensifies at a rate of about 1 million times hotter than for those lowely few fans on the sidelines. I had no clue what I was doing, but I like to run so I simply followed the ball. I had fun, I fell down alot. I sucked, but I'm happy to be included. Up until the point I was not.

A major difference between adults and kids is that kids are constantly reminded to be nice. At some point, we forget those lessons as adults. You may think I stink, but do you really need to tell me? Probably not.

As this was a fun, all-skill-level league, I didn't do much prep work. Fail on my part. I know I'm not the best, fastest or most aggressive. I get that I don't know all the rules. But make me feel like a bit of an ass about it, and I won't stick around.

I love to try new things. Just ask my salsa teacher, my burlesque teacher, my aerial arts teacher or my urban pilates teacher.

This experience reminded me that not all things will be my favorite. I've found LOTS of great classes, met new people and generally expanded my life beautifully.

As for soccer, I'll keep that at the 8-year old level, which suits me just fine.