Product of environment

Good morning! Last night I had a tennis match against a 60 year old woman who still plays basketball with the guys. She had the scoring record at a major university until this year. With that said, guess who won? Two guesses, the first one does not count.....yeah, I was on the losing end of the battle....And I say: "so what?" Huh huh....this one did not bother me, because she was clearly the better player. I guess that in my old age, I have begun to figure things out.....like, this is not life and death...it's tennis with an older woman who can kick butt and will continue to do so until she can no longer breathe. I am happy if I can find the courts....

And so, I have had conversations with the big kid as to where he got his uber competitive spirit. He claims that it is his upbringing, and I scratched my head and said: "Really? Explain...."

And he proceeded to give me a litany of how I turned him into this massive ego driven, ambitious left hander......."Well mom, you did play tennis in college (true)...."

"You weren't satisfied with a college degree....you wanted more, so you went to an Ivy league school...." (Yeah, but back then, there was only one school in the region that has a MS in my field.....)

"Then you got your doctorate...." (yes, but I had my family reasons for that. I wanted to take care of my children).....

"And dad has one of the top accounting firms in the business and he works like a fiend...." (This is true....during certain months, we forget that he lives with us...)...

"So, I am a product of my upbringing...it's your fault." Ok, I took this one on the chin...unlike last night when Granny smoked me on the court.....In a way, he's right, but  I never made him do anything. He is the one who wanted to be the best. I already know that I am not the best in my field...I have a few positives, but there are people who are much smarter, intuitive, imaginative, and have nicer hair than I do. I am not in the competition of life...just trying to get by. The kid, on the other hand, is one competitive, aggressive guy, who will control the choice of my nursing home in the future. Here's hoping that he chooses one by the beach....

Anyway, as we spoke about the summer and how he plans on returning from Texas throwing 95 miles per hour over the plate...he will dominate in the conference and country....then be drafted by a major league team in the first round....as he leaves campus he will in no uncertain terms give thanks to his coaches or school, 'cause he did it all by himself....then he is going to drive to the mall and buy four hats of his major league team and give them to his family. That's it...that's his plan.

Scary? For me it is.....I'll tell you why...'cause I am not as competitive as he thinks I am. I play it safe and don't put my self out there like he does. He has a personality that is aggressively over the top. I guess this is what he needs.

This is why he went to each of his professors to thank them for their support this semester and see if he could squeeze a point or two into an "A" rather than a "B+"...that's right...he is working the system and has been rewarded for his efforts. In fact, this semester, for the first time in this guy's life, he has earned a few "A"s and made the Dean's List. Truly, I kid you not....the first time ever....I mean it....Dean' List....he gets a cake for this one!

On to the courts...I have another match today. This time, I am playing someone much younger. Got to ice the knees and take Aleeve first. On to get my butt kicked.....have a nice day!