joy comes in small packages

i needed to drop off clean pans at my house before driving to the mission to study, so i double parked in front of my house. across the street, i couldn't believe my luck, there was a woman and her son playing badminton. across the street from my house. i got so excited i couldn't focus on the tasks at hand, instead yelling out, "wow, you're playing badminton."

my love affair with badminton... i remember being in a slum in india talking to its residents about their culture and their lives and before we wrapped up the interview i said i had one final question in a very serious tone, "do you play badminton?" i love the guys who wear the knee braces and sports accoutrements showing, yes, they mean business on the badminton court, the ones who also grunt and make painful cries in hopes of hitting the zingers and clearing them out. this just reiterates i need to get back into the groove of playing at the community center! so it seems every time i see people playing badminton, the six year old in me leaps out of my mouth as i try to suppress all limbs from jumping into someone else's game.

and so it was no surprise that the woman gave me a quizzical look, a "yes" and resumed batting around the shuttlecock. i took the pans inside and walked back out, commenting to the badminton duo that if i saw them playing again, i might be forced to come join their game since i have a racket in the garage. "you live across the street?" and her face softened (i know my enthusiasm sometimes is a bit arresting when it presents itself)

she (natalie) then held out her racket to me and said, "so you play?"

there, on that sidewalk in my flouncy cupcake skirt, i got into proper badminton form and hit it to her son andrew whose eyes grew wide in surprise as i leapt forward to catch the birdie before it settled in a tree. a few more volleys back and forth and i convinced myself to give the nice neighbor back her racket and get off to the coffeehouse to study. we all waved at each other as i sped off with my roommate and one of our friends in tow. nice to meet the neighbors under such fun circumstances.