Evening Tennis

LO made 5th seed on her tennis team this week, not a permanent position by any means. FYI if you are as unschooled as I in tennis terms, top 6 on a team rule.
She is very aware of her vulnerability and asked to go practice today. After driving around our TinyTown USA and finding no courts open, we traversed out to the county school where her meet will be on Monday. Vacant courts lured us and we hit balls for over an hour.
It was smart to play on the court where she will be on Monday, and I wish we had wound up there by design, rather than by grace.
We got there at 6 and hit til 7:30. The sun was low, but temps were still hot. There was an intermittent breeze, and the sweet-sour smell surrounded us of mown grass lying damp in heaps outside the courts. The school is less than 10 years old, so the courts are not cracked as at her school, and the fence is not rusted and bent.
"Hit me volleys, Nana," she urged. "I don't want to let K (her doubles partner) down."
So I hit her volleys until, as she demanded, she returned 10 in a row, properly, not lollipops or out-of-bounds. It took about 35 minutes to get 10 in a row. She'd reach 8, then miss one, and we'd have to start all over. When she made 10, I celebrated with knuckles and a quick kiss on her head, but she only humored me and said, "Now let's hit."
Old Nana doesn't move as fast as her opponents, who are 13 years old, and it wasn't long until all the balls were lined up against the fence on my side of the court. We'd clean 'em up and hit again.
I cajoled her into trying my racquet for a few minutes, to see if it felt any better to her. Both are the cheapest that were available at WalMart, several years ago, when I still shopped at the Store of Satan. The really good players have Head racquets, and lovely little tennis skirts for practice. After evaluating my racquet she politely advised me that hers feels better, but thanks for the offer. No problem, I said, just wanted you to give it a shot.

When her tennis elbow began to bother her, she "allowed" me to finish and head for the car. I could tell she was uncomfortable but she did not say. Neither did I.
I was thankful that I'm carrying 30 pounds less than a few months ago, so that I did move a tad faster and lasted maybe a nanosecond longer. Our water tasted so good and we could feel the cold of it moving down the pipes to our stomachs.
We headed to the store and perused the elbow wraps, selecting the one that looked the best, and conveniently enough, cost the least.
It was a great evening and one I hope to remember for a long time.