At some point during my pre-teenage years, my mom bought a ping pong table for the playroom. The setup wasn't perfect, as the popcorn ceiling from what used to be our garage was quite low, which prevented almost any type of lob shot. Still, my neighborhood best friends, Warren Lee Gilley and Jimmy Levine, played a lot of ping pong for a couple of years and especially one summer, as I remember it.
The best memories, though, are of my mom and me playing ping pong. She was actually pretty good, although I normally beat her. What I remember most fondly is simply returning every one of her shots with a half lob while, in the middle of a point, she would get tickled and start laughing uncontrollably. "Stop! Stop!" I recall her saying, as she laughed until she finally missed the ball or hit it into the net.
It was great fun, playing with my mom. Looking back, she probably saw it as a way for us to bond. To do something together, as I was approaching or beginning my teenage years. I don't recall us getting rid of the ping pong table altogether but as the years passed, it wasn't there any longer. The memories remained, though.
For years, Jude and I talked about building a screened in porch where our back deck is, in part because we thought it would be a great place for a ping pong table. Because she is a "doer," Jude got the ball rolling a year or so ago. It helped tremendously for her to be working remotely from home, as she was able to monitor the work on a daily basis. By her estimation, Jude has taken her laptop and worked outside, on the screened in porch, for part of every day since it was finished.
But that's not the best part. The ping pong table, which I ordered, is the best part.
The boys and I, and occasionally Jude, have played more games of ping pong than I could possibly count. Competitive games, too. Initially, I dominated the boys and ran up an unbeaten streak of 20 or so games. That changed quickly, though, as JP and Joe improved at a rapid rate. Now, for the most part, we take turns beating each other, although I still win more than I lose.
JP and Joe play handicap matches against Jude. They sit on a baseball bucket and player her. For a while, Joe played Jude using a book instead of a paddle. Then, he played her left-handed with the book. Recently, Joe began playing Jude with his hand and no paddle. It's hilarious.
Joe and I often play best of 2, best of 3, or best of 7 matches, trash talked each other all the way. Jude usually walks out and sits in my camping chair or on the sectional couch she ordered, reading and laughing at us, as we play. Always with music in the background - the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band as of late - we play ping pong, taunt each other, and mostly laugh a lot. Most of all, we enjoy spending time together, as a family, making memories that will last a lifetime.
The other night, Joe looked at Jude and me and said, earnest, "I can't remember what we used to do before we had a ping pong table."
Indeed.
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