COVID Ruins Everything
Posted on December 24, 2020 by Ching under Hobbies.
This last league session was the most challenging ever. My normal mixed league partner Tom decided to take a break and so I talked my friend Steve into playing with me. I so wanted to play in league with Steve that I even agreed to his demands – no matching outfits and only one league picture posted on social media.
Besides having a new mixed league partner, I also had a new women’s league partner. Having new partners is nothing new for me because I switch partners all the time. But this is the first league session ever that I actually missed league nights, which really tore me apart because I do not ever like missing pickleball if I can help it. The worst part is this was a short league session (only five weeks instead of seven) so I really only got play half of the league.
My mixed league was on Sunday nights so I couldn’t play on December 6 because my COVID symptoms started on Thursday, December 3, and, not only was I feeling very sick that weekend but we were also waiting for our COVID test results so we had to be in quarantine. Luckily, my friend Kim (Knotts) was available to take my place and it was a good league night because she and Steve won both matches that night. Since the two of them played really well together, we planned to have Kim play in my place again the following weekend for our league tournament. Michael approved it and everything. December 13 would have been the 10 day since my symptoms started and, while I technically would have been free to be out of quarantine, I didn’t think I would feel up to playing in a pickleball tournament (even if it is just a silly league one).
Anyway, fast forward to the following weekend and then Steve now has some COVID symptoms and is waiting on test results so he has to isolate. So then if neither of us can play our mixed team has to forfeit. I hated the idea of forfeiting. I actually thought about playing long and hard. I even asked my friend Chris (Wilson) to play with me but he couldn’t because it was on a Sunday evening. It’s a good thing he couldn’t play because I really shouldn’t have been playing anyway. Even though it was day ten and my quarantine was technically over I was not in any shape to play. When the doctor told us we would be free from COVID jail in ten days, I really hoped with all of my heart that all of my symptoms would be gone by day ten because what would be the point of being free if you’re not well enough to be upright? On Sunday I still had some body aches so, even though I told myself that our team would forfeit “over my dead body,” we really had to forfeit because if I insisted on playing it would have been literally over my dead body.
I heard that we weren’t the only team to forfeit on league tournament night. Only five out of the nine teams actually played on tournament night so three other teams besides us forfeited. So that’s pretty much how this last session of mixed ended.
The women’s doubles league was even worse. My partner and I only got to play together twice. And almost not even that. On the very first night of league, less than a couple of hours before our league match, my partner Anna texted me and told me that she tested positive for COVID. Thankfully, she was asymptomatic but she still had to quarantine. That meant she had to miss the first two Wednesdays. I managed to get great subs for those two weeks but I was so excited for this league session (as I am for every session, I suppose) that I even got special league uniforms for me and my partner which I couldn’t even wear for the first two weeks because she was sidelined. We finally got to play together on the third week of league, December 2, which is the day before my symptoms started.
But, hey! At least we got to take these fun pics.
Aren’t our uniforms cool? Even though we did only get to wear them twice.
Dawn filled in for me the following week because I was sick with COVID. We planned to have a sub lined up for me the following week because we weren’t sure how I would feel but thankfully by Wednesday, December 16, I felt up to playing. It was the thirteenth day since the onset of my symptoms so I was officially done with my quarantine and, unlike on Sunday when I didn’t feel well enough, I was actually feeling pretty strong on Wednesday.
On Monday (day eleven) I was feeling pretty good but I knew not to get too excited because I felt pretty good the first Sunday after my symptoms began (on December 6) and then the symptoms were back with a vengeance the very next day. I pretty much rode this crazy roller coaster where I was sick, felt better, and then felt sick again over the course of two weeks. I was very cautious on Monday because I wasn’t sure if my body aches (which were the worst of my symptoms) would return. My friend Ramona subbed my Zumba class that night and then I also had Sydney sub my 5:30 AM class on Wednesday. On Tuesday, I woke up and still felt fine. I felt better than Monday and so I thought, hey, I can probably play in the tournament on Wednesday night and so I did.
We didn’t win but it was great be reunited with my partner and we took a few more fun pics. Anna even took one for the team and wore the matching shorts I got for us which she didn’t like because she said it made her feel like she had a wedgie. The shorts don’t feel like that to me but, after looking at this pic, it does kind of look like I have a wedgie. I must just be numb to it. LOL.
My favorite part of our league uniforms is that it has our names on the back.
It was really fun playing with Anna. I wish we could have played together more than twice. Oh, well. That’s what happens when COVID ruins everything.
It was pretty much the same story on tournament night. Only seven out of the thirteen women’s doubles teams played. The rest of the teams had to forfeit for one reason or another. It was the same with the men’s doubles league too. It was so weird. Chicken N Pickle is usually abuzz with all of the pickleball players milling about and that night it was almost like tomb. There was hardly anyone there.
I promised Brian I wouldn’t overdo it but with hardly anyone there I actually got to play a little bit extra. Anna and I even played singles against each other while we were waiting for our first match. That was my first day back to playing pickleball and, with the exception of Monday when I taught my Zumba class, I’ve played everyday since.
On Thursday, Michael Harris put together a mixed group and we played for three hours. On Friday, I had a pickleball lesson with Chis (Heck) and then played in the 5:00 PM open play at Nahola before my 7:00 PM mixed play group.
On Saturday, my friend Chris (Wilson) and I played in the ugly sweater pickleball tournament at Chicken N Pickle. There were only five teams in the competitive pool (compared to twelve in the social pool later that day) and we only came in third but I had a lot of fun playing. Anyway, the top two teams were men’s doubles teams so I didn’t feel too bad. Chris actually got COVID right before I did and the day he returned to our Friday night play group was my first night off. We decided to call our team for the Saturday tournament COVID Survivors. LOL.
I finally managed to get into the much coveted Chicken N Pickle brunch and bingo open play so I played from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Sunday, followed by a few rounds of bingo, and then I hightailed it to Nahola for the 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM open play. I didn’t plan to play bingo and was just going to grab a quick bite before going to Nahola but Michael and Jeff talked me into it.
I figured instead of eating elsewhere I could just eat at Chicken N Pickle over bingo. I told Michael I would stay for one game. Michael walks by four rounds later and goes, “So much for only staying for one game. You might as well stay for blackout so you can win that Electrum Pro paddle.”
Part of the reason I stayed so long is I got to hang out with these two kool kats — Bill Schantz and Lonnie Lollar.
I stayed way longer than I should have and was actually 15 minutes late for the Nahola Open play but I’m so glad I went because we had exactly eight players and, not only that, this past Sunday was the very last open play at Nahola. They canceled open play indefinitely because of the rise in COVID cases.
I took a break from pickleball on Monday but I did resume teaching my Monday night Zumba class. On Tuesday, I signed up for “newbie night” which turned into the most awesome open play ever. They extended the “newbie night” deal to everyone so for $5 we got to play pickleball and have a free appetizer.
Yesterday Janelle invited me to play with her and Mel and Melissa at Nahola — except I misread my text message and went to Chicken N Pickle instead. I have never gotten from CNP to Nahola so fast!
And that brings us to today, Christmas Eve. I’m pretty much back to normal. Just in time for Christmas! And, while COVID ruined several plans this month (our poker tournament and my friend Lauren’s visit for starters), I’m really glad that we’ve gotten it out of the way and have immunity for at least 90 days.
Until next time. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
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Replies to "COVID Ruins Everything"
Ching on December 30, 2020
I highly recommend living in Wichita. Cost of living is great and crime isn’t as bad as most cities this size. We also have the best YMCA’s in the nation and lots of free or no-cost activities to do.
New Day on January 21, 2021
Where did you get those mesh shorts? My wife was asking about them…
Ching on January 27, 2021
They are from https://www.epicsports.com but they were closeout so I’m not sure they’re available anymore.
« We Both Got COVID and Survived « this post » Christmas Day 2020 »
profits101 on December 30, 2020
Enjoyed looking through your site – mostly I was searching crime info/maps and this came up. I’m a USA expat currently in the Philippines and will bring my filipina gf to the US later in 2021. Wichita has some great affordable housing and I’d like to be in the midwest. I really have concerns about the crime stats there, but on other hand, I’ve lived in and near NYC and if you’re street smart I think any of that can be managed – and live in a location that is lower on the scale. Anyway, nice blog and good to see happy couple 🙂