volume 2.. all is fair in love and volleyball :)

So Mister works at some big-shot accounting firm which has all these crazy benefits. We're talking free Crackberry's, amazing health care plans, reimbursements for food and taxis, and my personal fan fave: sponsored sports teams. It's amazing! Basically, league fees which typically run from a few hundred to even a grand are completely covered by his company, AKA superball-jackpot for him. (Mister's a fake jock, he picks up sports retardedly quickly but is uncomfortable with the label "jock". He thinks it denotes a lack of intelligence).

But oddly, people at his company don't embrace these fun opportunities at all! CRAZY, I know. Of course, I do the right thing and step in to take full advantage of all this amazingness. i.e. Guess who competed on last years E&Y Viking Boat and Dragon Boat teams? hehe.

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This time? 
Heatwave 2010. The Sick Kids Foundation Charity Volleyball Tournament.

But, like always, getting me to actually join his team takes a bit of convincing. You see, I am slightly scarred from growing up as an ugly, geeky child. And although everyone to this day thinks I'm crazy outgoing, I have shy-ness issues. I don't really like meeting people, and I'm always worried that people think I'm not good enough. It doesn't help that Mister tells me he wouldn't be playing on the same team as me. He said he was on the competitive team, and only the recreational team needed players. Hence, ULTRA-hesitation on my end. Of course, Mister never gives up on encouraging me and ultimately, I gave in.

So we start warming up and I feel good about it all. I mean, I've loved volleyball for a while now, I'm just very self-critical and beach volleyball is brand-spankingly new to me.

We're hitting around in a circle and the ball drops by my feet. I pick it up and volley it to my teammate. Sand begins to hail on my face and drown my mouth in all its glory. The chalkiness is distinct. I am definitely eating sand as if I'm at a buffet. BLAH. It seems, beach vball is not quite the same as indoor.

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We start our first game.

Mr. D sets me up.

I go for my first spike.

BAM.

Damn right I got that sucker down.

HOLLA.

I go for my next spike.

I dig my feet hard into the ground to get more height in my jump.

Oh wait.

Why am I being pulled back?!

No.

NOOOOO.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I feel my body being sucked into the earth beneath me.

I know what's about to happen but I can't stop it.

BAMM.

I fall flat on my face.

And to top it off, down comes the ball, hitting me right in the head.

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WHATEVS. We smoked that first team like chicken on a barbecue.

And surprisingly the next team. And the next! WHOA. Ends up being, my team is pretty good! Before you knew it, we made it into playoffs baby!

Who knew eh? A team full of strangers, randomly put together last minute, made it into the playoffs. Pretty decent considering there were 64 teams in the tournament.

The competition became steeper. Opponents knew what they were doing and were picking on our weak spots. Scores got close and I reverted to old habits... I know this sounds crazy, but I tend to stop breathing when I get really nervous. Note: this especially sucks when you're already out of breath from running and diving in the sand.

Anyhow, match after match, we worked our butts off, and we just kept winning like it was nobody's business. Every step of the way, I could feel my heart would beat faster and faster with excitement. What? Quarter Finals? Semi Finals!? FINALS?!?! NO WAYYY!

Uh huh, YES WAY.

Unfortunately, unlike Dodgeball, Happy Gilmore, the Mighty-Ducks and Remember the Titans, we didn't pull out the true underdog story. We didn't bring home the gold.

But the silver? Buddy, that was my happy ending. I was SO proud of my team. Seriously, we worked so hard together. We never gave up in the face of adversity and we stuck together no matter what. Best of all, we had fun, like CRAZY amounts of fun. And when I'm old and on my little rocking chair, that's what I want to remember. I can still feel the butterflies from the moment I realized Christmas came early: we were awarded leather portfolio organizers, PVC lunchbox thermos', sunglasses and lots and lots of Timothy's coffee. It doesn't sound like much, but it meant the world to me.

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The best part?

..sharing every moment of this with Mister. I don't want to get all PDA and overly mushy now, but words can't describe how happy I am to have him in my life.

He brings me hope when I see darkness, creates happiness when I feel sadness, and always, always overwhelms me with unconditional love. Thank you for being just as you are; you bring out the best in me. My lover, my partner in crime, my very best friend.

Happy 2-Year Anniversary. :)