hit hit hit...run run run...Chiangmai....SUU!

I really didn't know what to expect when I was told that there would be a softball tournament in Bangkok and the coach invited me to go along with the girls. My first reaction was...ARE YOU KIDDING?...I never dreamed or imagined that I will ever get to play softball, as in in a real game...ever again. Remember when I talked (blogged) about how I miss training? I see this as a gift from God...a really good one...a superly unexpected one.

I've only trained 2 or 3 times with the team. They train on Saturdays and Sundays in the university, together with the guys team. It's like a softball club. The girls are all around 16 - 18 years old, from different schools. I can only make it on Saturday afternoons...only for a couple of hours...but it's been crazy...I haven't played for 7 years...it's amazing just to be able to swing the bat...or to be able to catch and throw!

I thought I would just take the opportunity and go to the tournament in Bangkok. I didn't think very much about the details...Would I be able to play at all? Was I too rusty? Would I be able to get along with the girls? Would I be able to communicate with them at all? Is there going to be a generation gap? What if I end up being an outcast? As usual, I thought too much. I haven't had much opportunity to get to know the girls...so it felt kind of strange that I will have to spend 4 days in close quarters with the them. Honestly, I was actually scared.

The tournament came just at the right time. I was feeling down, a lil lonely and in need of a break. Playing softball, getting to know the girls...was just the thing I needed. He knows...and so He provided...the right thing, at the right time.

I actually got to play in every game! Even though my engine's a lil old...my base-running and fielding kind of sucked lah...but I could still hit...not fantastic-homerun-grandslam kind of hitting...but I was good enough to be lined up as the 4th batter! Who would have thought eh? We played with university teams (they had national team players that looked even stronger than MEN!) and high school teams and mixed teams. My team's a high school team...except for the old woman (me!). *heh* We played a total of 5 games over 3 days. We won 2 games out of 5 (we could have won another one, but that was kind of close). The 2 games we really lost...we lost to the university teams. We did fairly well...I was proud of my team.

Hanging out intensively with teenagers is definitely tiring...they like to play pranks...use a lot of slang I don't understand...eat lots of snacks (though they insist that I snack more than them)...and do a lot of things that I don't get...*heh* But it's fun...super fun...I didn't feel at all like a 29 yr-old...I actually felt like one of them at times... Thank you Lord...Your love is SUPER AMAZING! So, do I look like one of them in the photo?

(We all wore the same jersey for all 3 days! Some wore the same pair of socks! It rained and got muddy at times...other times, it was scorching hot. I got a lil burnt. Seriously brought back fond memories of good old days... I feel like I can gush on and on...but I shall stop here.)