Faith
Books, Home Decor
Lifestyle
Thanksgiving Recap (not what you’re expecting)
Dec 1, 2025
I’m not one to jump on bandwagons and I’ve never given much thought to what’s popular. I buy what I like. I do what’s in alignment with my sense of self or what God’s asking of me. But, I’ve recently come to an important opinion about one trend, and here it is: pickleball is a sport and it’s fun to play. In fact, this newsletter was published later than usual, because I’ve been pickleballing all week.
Over the holiday break—between the turkey and pie and board games and conversations—my parents set up a makeshift pickleball court at the end of their driveway. They established orange boundary lines, handed out professional-grade paddles and positioned the net in anticipation. One ref. One line judge. Averi—one of the best ball girls I’ve seen—took her job seriously and performed with immense pride. About twenty of us played for positions in what is now deemed “The Great Pickleball Tournament of 2025.” I’m definitely the only one who calls it this…
For what it’s worth, I thought it would be a pretty close tournament. Between the twenty of us, nine of us played collegiate sports, three were coaches, five of us are over six feet tall. A healthy match up of competitors, or so I thought.
Here’s the sad reality: we got demolished by a team of two sixty-year-old men: my dad and my uncle Frank. They didn’t even have a team name. Just “Tab and Frank.”
A low serve here, a backward spike there, a constant steady stream of consistent points. Their actions spoke for themselves. Between their grins and fist bumps and top spin, I had had enough. What’s hilarious is that the rest of us (all significantly younger and quicker) genuinely tried to beat them. Still, they quietly made their way to the winner’s bracket, and eventually walked away with the first place trophy. So, my newsletter is short this week because I’m out practicing for next year’s tournament. 😉
The hot take I’m leaving you with is this: sometimes an old dog can learn new tricks.
Cheering for you,
Ciara Laine
No comments