Hubby and I have been married 27 years and have been playing mixed doubles together for 9 months. We often meet couples who absolutely refuse to play with each other. Definitely can think of many good reasons not to:
- Skill level gap too wide between you and your significant other;
- Different goals (maybe one wants to compete in tournaments and the other is happy just doing rec play);
- Pickleball is your "me" time away from spouse/s.o.
For us, our first few months as MXD partners were, well, ROUGH. Communication is key off and on the court. So is letting things go. And learning to accept each other's weaknesses. And embracing each other's strengths. And exercising humility. If you don't have the strong foundations of a healthy relationship outside the pickleball kitchen, things won't magically improve when you're down 0-9, missing your drop shots, popping up all your balls, or fighting over who shoulda-woulda-coulda covered the middle.
We passed the biggest marital pickleball stress test about 4 months in, when an "I got it! NO, I GOT IT!" tiff turned into a total public meltdown. You know exactly what I'm talking about, right? Hubby called a shot that was way over on "my" side of the court, but I ignored him. Didn't get out of his way. Swung and missed.
Oops.
Glaring and death stares ensued. Serves failed. Lobs whiffed. Volleys flubbed. The opposing team politely endured our awkward, seething silence, but not for too long. We were quickly pickled, refused to clink each other's paddles, and then stormed separately off the court.
0-11. YEARGHHH! CALL THE DIVORCE LAWYER!
Somehow, we worked through it all as our kids snickered at their goofy parents fighting over... pickleball. We learned not to dwell on occasional communications mishaps. We learned to forgive and move on. We put "us" ahead of "you" and "me."
So now that I've spilled my guts out: Tell us YOUR favorite married mixed doubles meltdown story and share your tips on how to survive!
