Every year, in August, a friend of ours hosts a huge, day long party, starting off strong at 9:00am by playing paint ball. In the past, I had never participated, mostly because it would require me to get out of bed sooner than I like, but this year was different. I was excited to finally try it. This was going to be the last year for paintball so it was now or never.
It was me, a female, with 11 guys, who I could only assume from their massive amount of gear, were pros. They showed up with an arsenal: camo clothes, face covers, bandanas, boots, you name it. Me? I showed up in a cut off t-shirt, a sweatshirt that has oil stains all over it, white shoes, and my “I have dirty shit to do” jeans (which are acid wash in color). Needless to say, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn’t care, though. I was there to kick ass.
Of course, there were a few comments like, “Running with the big boys today, eh?” and “Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy on you.” I just nodded and smiled. Little did they know it wasn’t my first time handling firearms.
Once everyone was ready, I walked the course to get an understanding of the layout. The host went over the rules and divided us into two teams. Basically, the game was to charge at each other from opposite sides and try to shoot each other out. It all happened so fast, I hardly remember it, just bits and pieces.
We continued to play various games for the next several hours, reloading after each round to ensure our hoppers had plenty of paint balls. One game I particularly enjoyed was called “Civil War”. We were divided into two teams on opposite sides of an open field. We stood arms length apart from our teammates and on the count of three, we aimed and fired. For those who didn’t get hit, we moved forward three steps to repeat over, and over. I was the last one standing during the first round. My opponent, who was in the Airforce, was the last one standing on the opposing team. *GULP* We counted, aimed, and fired; both hitting each other at the same time.
There were so many fun games we played that day. After paintball, we all cleaned up and relaxed for a bit. The next event was kickball! Only, the version that we play involves kiddie pools for bases, and a slip N slide as you slide into home. Now, every year, someone inevitably gets hurt. Two years ago it was me; nearly breaking my foot by kicking the ground as hard as I could (not intentionally, of course – I missed the ball entirely). This year was a friend of ours. He slipped on the wet grass, scraping one leg, and injuring the calf muscle on the other. This all happened within the first ten minutes of starting the game. He was pretty hurt so he sat out for awhile and iced his leg. It ended up being injured enough to the point where he had to ride around on the gator all night to get around.
We played 2 games of kickball, and most of us were worn out by the time it was over. Keep in mind, we all have a beer in one hand as we’re kicking and running. It was a great time. We were having so much fun, a neighbor came by and joined us, along with his wife and their grandkids.
Next was to eat and relax. Let the drinking begin! There were quite a few people, so there were several groups of games going on simultaneously. Croquet, dominoes, darts (with a twist), swimming; all kinds of activities. I always look forward to this party every year. All of our friends come together and we get to see what everyone’s been up to and just have a grand ole time.
What are your thoughts on the matter?