While he didn’t coin the phrase (that would be Henry Russell Sanders), Vince Lombardi is associated with the quote, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” That makes at least three things that I have in common with the legendary football coach — my love for my Catholic faith, my love for the Green Bay Packers, and my love of competition.
What can I say? I was born into a competitive family. My mom, my dad, my two older brothers, and I had that sense of competitiveness ingrained in us. While we all played sports back in the day, I credit my mom for really instilling that love of competing in me. I remember when I was young watching her play softball, volleyball, golf, and bowl — and she had the trophies to prove it.
As for me, I started with softball, and, through the years, competed in numerous other sports, including volleyball, gymnastics, soccer, and running. The funny thing is that you never knew when the last time would be that you’d be on a field, a course, or in a gym competing. For some reason or other, each sport’s season permanently ended, whether it was because of the stage of life I was in, my age, or injuries.
Next week, I will be celebrating my birthday. Not a milestone one, but one that my favorite band, The Beatles, immortalized. While I still have that urge to compete, the opportunities available to me are dwindling. This came to mind recently when I was doing our morning weight training with my husband. I realized that I have no intention of increasing the force or reps of any of the exercises I’m currently doing. At this stage, my goal is to maintain the intensity of each exercise for as long as I can.
That led me to think about the other things I’m still competing in, even if it’s only against myself. Thanks to one grandson in particular, who seems to share the family affinity for competitiveness, I’m working at getting better at darts, foosball, and ping pong. Those are his favorite things to play at our house, and I’ll be darned if I’ll let a 10-year-old beat me. Truth be told, he’s actually edging me out in darts — he’s a leftie and has a wicked throw. He’s getting better at foosball all the time, and once he masters the spin in ping pong, all bets are off. But, if I take the time to practice (that’s a big if), I should be able to hold my own for a while yet. By the time he’s 12, I would imagine he’ll be trouncing me, but I’ll take the victories I can still get between now and then.
There’s still a chance, now that we’re retired, that I can get better at golf and pickleball, but we don’t get out nearly as much as I’d like to (or need to, if I really want to up my game). Recently, we got a keyboard, so I’ve taken up piano again after a 50-year hiatus. It’s not like riding a bike; you don’t just pick up where you left off, but I can see improvement. Again, it takes time to get better at anything, so I’m not anticipating performing publicly soon—or ever.
If sports are out, is there still anything I can participate in that helps scratch that competitive itch? The one thing we’ve found recently is playing D.J. Trivia at a local tavern. John and I play on a team with family and friends on Thursdays when it works out for us. I’ve made a few distinctions over the past couple of years that we’ve been doing this. There are a lot of smart people who play trivia, almost anything that I know, there’s a good chance that at least one person on another team will know, and there are a lot of trivia categories that I know very little about (that’s where it helps having a team with diverse players in interests and ages). I decided that if I wanted to have any competitive edge in trivia, I needed to find a category to make my own that most people struggled with. I chose geography/world flags. It’s not that I shone in that area, but it was something I could work on studying and memorizing. This has proven to be beneficial in two ways. Occasionally, I’ll come up with an answer that no one else knows, so I feel like I’m contributing to the team, and memorizing is good exercise for the brain.
All those things aside, I can be the best at some things that I’m still in control of in my life. I am striving to be the best daughter of God, the best wife, the best mother, the best mother-in-law, the best daughter, the best aunt, the best Godmother, the best grandmother, the best neighbor, and the best friend that I can be. In the end, those are really the categories that make the most difference anyhow. No matter how old I am or what shape I’m in, I can choose to do what it takes to be the best human being that I can be. And, if I do that, in the end, I’ll win the biggest game of all – the game of life!