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Early morning game of tennis with the kids - the indoor kind with the soft balls and the low net. We were booked in for 10.15am but turned up 25 minutes early and the lady at the counter let us start because the court was empty. We got over an hour of tennis for the price of 45 minutes. Take that Center Parcs.
I was feeling a bit under the weather already, but this was a surprisingly full on work out. Ernie mainly sat playing on my phone, but Phoebe seems to pick up sports quickly and we had some decent rallies and I ran to try and return the errant shots. As she rapidly improves and I degenerate it won't be long before she can give me a properly decent game. Although equally it might not be long before the effort of keeping up with an 8 year old kills me.
Am thinking of King Richarding her and making her devote her whole life to tennis in the hope of making millions, which I would then have, because I created her and so she belongs to me. It's the long game to becoming a millionaire for sure. Even if she is a teenage prodigy I am still ten years from seeing a return on my investment and there's the slight danger that when she's older she might argue that she's the one who's done all the work so she gets all the money. Also being able to hit a soft tennis ball 75% of the time might not be the sign of a tennis genius. But I am still going to take the chance. Even if the pressure I will exert destroys our relationship and her failure leads to her seeking solace in alcohol and drugs. YOU HAVE TO RISK IT FOR A BISCUIT. That's my mantra. And what I will be shouting at her from the Wimbledon friends and family box. I will also give her a biscuit every time she risks it. Which might be counterproductive in the long run.
Nearly everyone else seems to leave Center Parcs on Friday, allowing a new intake of families to come in for the weekend. To be honest four full days here might be enough. At least for the parents. It's obviously food for the soul to spend so much time with your kids and have to keep up with their energy levels, but when does school start again?
