Daisy Picking

Well, like most Dorff children, I was expected to participate in a sporting activity of my choosing. The problem - I had a difficult time choosing! I can remember taking dance as a little kid, but I'm not sure why that stopped. My next memory is of soccer - sadly, especially considering I married a soccer player, I was a better daisy picker than soccer player - I just didn't like getting in other people's faces and getting aggressive. I can remember also trying gymnastics as a kid. Other stints at sporting activities included one year on a basketball team, two years running cross country, and two more years of jazz dance. I actually enjoyed all three of those activities, but basketball had the same problem for me as soccer - I just wouldn't get in people's faces. Cross country ended during 8th grade when I had to quit mid-season due to an injury that led to physical therapy. Jazz dance was by far my favorite, but I stopped after we moved to Florida (the only available class for my age was on Monday nights). Also, during Jr. High I gained a lot of weight, and I was feeling very uncomfortable about myself in a leotard - yikes!

Don't fear, all is not lost for me. I would say there are two success stories for me in sports: swimming and tennis. Swimming began as a necessity - you can't live in California and not know how to swim as soon as you can walk - so we all learned at neighbor's homes. Then I can remember YMCA swim classes. When we moved to Cincinnati Mom, in an effort to keep her kids from wasting away their summers, told us that we needed to either do Tennis Camp or Swim Team. I chose tennis camp the first year, but didn't really like it. So I then switched over to Swim Team, where I swam summer after summer through 7th grade. Although I was not the best, nor did I bring home tons of ribbons or trophies, I did enjoy myself. Still to this day I love swimming. I love being in the water and just enjoying the pool. I do not enjoy the chlorine though - yuck! Success number two was tennis. My first experience with tennis was that one summer of tennis camp. Although I was okay at it, I just didn't enjoy the camp itself. I think I wanted to take that camp because I wanted to be able to play tennis like my mom - she always amazed me with her abilities on the court. I look forward to the day when I can see my mom strong enough to lift a racket again - hooray for the resurrection! After moving to Florida, Erika and I began taking lessons together on Saturday mornings from the neighborhood tennis pro. We took these lessons for a few years. I actually really enjoy playing tennis. I can't serve to save my life, but I feel pretty confident in the rest of my tennis abilities. Sometimes I wish that I still had the opportunity to take tennis right now, but, this is obviously not the plan for me right now!

So, long story short... Am I good at sports? Yeah, not so much. Do I enjoy them? Yes, as long as it's not competitive. Do I want my children involved in them? Of course - there's so much to be learned about yourself and others through sports, plus it's just plain good for you! Do I wish I had better sporting experiences from my youth? Sometimes. I really don't think I would have become as involved in music as I did had I stuck to sporting more - and I'm so grateful for the experiences that I had in music. However, I do envy some people who have those great memories of sporting teams, etc..... In general, I'm glad for the experiences that I did have.