Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Volleyball Ain't Just a Game!

Just a quick note to get you updated on what's going on in BEEEE-UUU-TEE-FUL Tennessee...

The weather starts out in the high 20's - low 30's each day --BRISK might too mild a word. Calling the wind "biting" might be too mild a word, too! But I'm not complaining. It's been bright sunshine and beautiful scenery.

Today was our first day of actual games. But since our first game wasn't until 2pm, we had a bit of free time this morning. We decided to take the girls to a nursing home in town to do a little something for someone besides ourselves. At first some of the girls were a bit skeptical about this activity. On the way to the nursing home, they practiced a few songs to sing. They are ALWAYS singing on the way to and from games...so this seemed a natural fit.

After arriving at the nursing home and making sure we would be welcome (of course we were welcomed with open arms!), the girls started out by visiting with a sweet lady that one of the girls knew. Seeing all eight girls packed into Mrs. Senter's half of the room was pretty interesting. But then... they started to sing and I stood mesmerized by the sweet sound and the look on their faces. It was amazing.

After singing a few songs for Mrs. Senter's and her insisting on hugging EVERY girl, we moved on to another room. As soon as we would finish in one room, the nurses and aides would hurry us to Mrs. So and So's room "who would really like to hear you sing." At each room, one or two of the girls would introduce themselves as a volleyball team from Florida who were playing in a tournament on the mountain. Then they would ask if they would mind if we sang for them. The residents were always enthusiastic and seemed to really enjoy each visit.

We were able to go from room to room for about an hour. When time was up and I had to insist on leaving (we HAD to go or miss our game!) the girls were disappointed. As we got back in the car, ALLLLLL the girls were so excited and were asking if we could do this again -- even when we got home! The girls were so warm and sweet to these people it was hard to keep from crying!

Yes, I know what some of you are thinking (as usual)..."Meggy-girl you cry ALLL the time anyway!" Well, let me tell you, the other mom with us was crying, too! It was so wonderful. I've never been more proud of those girls. It was a special time that I won't soon forget. I'm still crying just thinking about it!~

Now, for other news that is important...but in terms of God's world, not nearly as important as the start of our day...

We won all three of our matches today. We even won the match we played at 9:30 tonight! Personally, I think it's pretty rotten that they make these girls get up and have breakfast between 7am and 7:30am --then expect them to play volleyball that late at night! Our game didn't actually start until about 10pm. This is so hard on our girls, but we survived!

Winning all our matches seeded us #1 in our pool (or group for you non-team sport people). Tomorrow starts the actual tournament where we have to really buckle-down and play hard. It is a double-elimination tournament, so if we lose 2 matches, we're done and headed home. If we win both our matches tomorrow, we won't have to play again until Friday. But if we lose even one, we have to win a bunch more games in the Loser's Bracket before Friday in order to win the tournament.

Sounds complicated, but that's just because I write weird. Sorry...my brain has been up since 6am and it's after midnight...so I'm surprised I can type at all! But I just had to tell you about the nursing home. I'll have some pictures AND video when I get back home.

Please keep us in your prayers!


Stay tuned!

P.S. MamaWeso hasn't pushed me down any steps so far!

P.S.S. Hey Cousin Sue, the road up Dayton Mountain has a sign "Historic Trail of Tears" Ever been here? I'll have to look for more info to send along to you!

12 Click here to Comment!:

Laura said...

Go girls! Sounds like you guys are having fun.

Kelley said...

I can't tell you how happy/excited I am that it worked out for the girls to sing at the home! If they win today and don't have another game 'til Friday (and would want to) I know that Mrs. Creekmore would love to hear them sing as well! What a blessing for the girls to be able to bless so many and be blessed in return. Wish I could have been there! (did you get actual video of them singing?)

Yay for the wins! I can't believe they had to play at 10pm...yikes...

Anonymous said...

I missed this trip to the nursing home, although I am up here for the tournament. However, when the girls came to pick me up for the game Mary had them sing the 3 songs they sang at the nursing home. Wow! They sounded GREAT -- harmonizing and everything! I hope to have them record the songs so it can be the background to the movie we'll make of the trip this week. Last night's match was our most difficult, but we did win! Wahoo!

Anonymous said...

Kelley..we tried to sing to Mrs. Creekmore, but she wasn't feeling well at the beginning...we went back on our way out and she wasn't in her room. We were really sorry to miss her since your mom and I had talked to her the day before. BTW, she said she hoped you would call when your finger healed...she's sure you must have an injury since you haven't called her! LOL!!

Mrs. Pittman said...

Meg, Is the Historic Trail of Tears so-named because you've been there before? :)

Thanks for sharing this side of the volleyball tourney. Makes me wish Mary-Faith was on the team (although I doubt if you'd have won all three games if she was...)

Keep us informed-

ThePrincessDeb

Sue Glasco said...

Just reading about the nursing home made me tear up. (We must be related. Not by blood, of course, but by temperament I guess.) No, I have not been to Dayton Mountain. Mostly, I have only been to Nashville and Jellico (a long time ago--over 50 years in fact) in Tennesee. Congratulations on the wins. Hope you stay in the winners' bracket. Keep us posted.

Kahlua Keeping Koala said...

Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to comment after I read your blog. Way to get the girls going.

Chel's Leaving a Legacy said...

I hope the video is of the girls singing in the nursing home...???

Have fun...and play hard! But that is such a life-learning experience that you guys went to the nursing home. If any of them had never done it before, they'll never be as nervous about visiting one in their whole life!

Chel's Leaving a Legacy said...

I'm really not sure that last comment I posted made sense. Sorry...I'm really tired! Email me if you need clarification! :-)

MamaHen Em said...

What an incredible visit to the nursing home! I hope the video will be of them singing! Good luck with the tournement!

Anonymous said...

The nursing home was awesome! Just something I might add though...

After we left the nursing home, we went to pick up mamaweso at their house. My wonderful mother was adamant that she would NOT drive down the driveway to the house and that we would all walk. We all (even me) wanted her too...maybe cause we just wanted an adventure or something (still no clue why I wanted to, considering that I've been down that terrible thing before). But after we all walked back up to the van, mamaweso said SHE would drive us down and up it. We were all quite excited until we got to the bottom and the tires started skidding for some reason...THEN, when we got turned around about to go up,...OH MY GOODNESS. That was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I was SURE the van was going to flip over at the speed we were going around the sharp corner! But that's ok. We all lived!...except mamaweso's ears...they were probably pretty damaged.

=)

Bex♥

Kelley said...

Meg, where ARE you? WHAT is going on? A week without a new post? At least post an "I'm OK" for your concerned readers!