Ok, I signed up. I did it. I paid my money to sign up for adult recreational soccer. I started playing soccer when I was five, often the only girl on the team, and I’ve really missed the game.
I haven’t played at all since the fateful day I broke my arm playing FreakinSoccer at the indoor soccer center years ago. I remember it well—splayed out on the field with Referee Bob telling me to stand up, shake it off, I’d be ok… Ooooo but the pain in my arm was not just in my wrist; it was in my brain and in my stomach and in my teeth, everywhere, sickening.
And indeed, I’d managed to break both bones in my lower arm. My cast was purple and went up to my shoulder. When it was time to get my second shorter cast, unfortunately, the gauze from the first cast had grown into my hand (if you look closely, you can see the scarred pattern of the gauze on my right hand) so I ended up in a brace to let the gauze wound heal. Yuck.
I haven’t played at all since then. I gave up soccer, took up running, which I’m not particularly good at in the competitive sense, being slooooooooooooow as I am, but I can usually go for longer runs than the gazelles I know. Thanks to two foot fractures in the last year, running hasn’t been too high on my list of favorite things to do, but I’m still plugging along.
I miss soccer, though. I miss sweaty men with strong soccer-playing legs, I miss making the play that makes the crowd cheer. I miss bantering with my goalie, playing a good defense.
I’m a little nervous since I’m ridiculously out of practice, but like all things, I could put it off forever, so I’m just doing it. If I make an ass of myself, I’m sure I’ll have fun in the process. Ashevillians, you can still sign up through tomorrow: https://www.youthleaguesusa.com/abysa/adult/07-08/AdultRec.html
My God what a great story. I was expecting that the possum would actually be alive and become animated…gnashing teeth and hissing. The tail falling off is even more ghastly, just in time for Halloween season.