Marathon Sports and Family Meals

May is the month for marathons.  I was playing singles in a USTA tennis match. The match started at 6 pm.  Every point, we exchanged 20 hits, it was hot, and my opponent was a lefty.  I won the first set, she won the 2nd set, we change sides in the middle of the tie-breaker and I told her I would hate to know what time it was.  She informed me it was 8:55 pm.  A 3 hour marathon.  I went on to win the tie-breaker and our team won the whole match 3-2!  Then I read the Orioles beat the Red Sox in a 17 inning marathon baseball game which took more than 6 hours to play, 17 innings, both teams went through their 8 pitchers and had to finnish the game with a positional player pitching.  When you are the only one on the tennis court facing an opponent or you are on the pitcher's mound staring down the batter, you have to   go through a mental check list.  Serve to her backhand, remember she is a lefty, move your feet, keep your eye on the ball, imagine winning the point.  And in a marathon, you repeat these mind games over, and over, and over.  The same mental toughness is required for consistently bringing your family together for dinnertime- the planning ahead to have the right ingredients on hand, refusing to take no for an answer (all three of my children played sports and we still consistently had dinners together), the determination to save money and calories by eating at home vs. the let's eat out option, and remembering the joy, laughter , and important discoveries(so you have a big test in chemistry tomorrow?) that come from sitting around your own kitchen table.  So it's mmm(marathons, meals, mind games- not hunger games) - good!