Thursday, January 12, 2006

Play!

Last night I went and played floor hockey in the gym of an elementary school where some of my friends teach.

And it was so much fun!

There were only 4 players per team, and you subbed in and out whenever you wanted. Since there were about 12 people there, it meant you could play or gasp on the sidelines as much as you wanted. And that was it. No one expected you to be good, or got mad if you weren't. It was co-ed, but in the nicest possible way - the guys didn't check you, but seemed to delight in being checked or chased by the girls, and there was plenty of cheering and encouragement from everyone. No one kept score. People kept switching teams. It was simply fun.

I've been reading the New York Times article about diabetes and how it's surging over us, and pretty soon we're all going to be swamped by this massive tidal wave of problems that will overwhelm us and our rickety healthcare system. And we eat too much and move too little.

And at the game last night, I was thinking, if kids did this every day at school, maybe we'd all be different. I don't mean just the exercise bit, I mean the non-competitive part too. The sense of fun, and encouragement. Running around because it's fun. Playing with a group of people because it's fun. Maybe we'd keep doing it right into adulthood, instead of thinking you can only be a super-athlete or have to trash-talk to be part of the game, or you have to have a perfect body or fancy shoes.

I wore mismatched socks and an old yellow t-shirt. My hair stuck up all over my head as soon as I got sweaty. I got really red in the face, and I keep touching the ball with my foot and losing possesion to the other team. I scored one awkward goal and got high-fived from a guy wearing goggles. When I left, the guys said thanks for coming! See you next week!

Yup. I think I'd like to be part of the game.

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