Dodgeball vs. Molly...Winner Dodgeball (30 Before 30 #??? I lost track and proabably skipped some days too)

Dodgeball and I are not really friends, but we've had some good times together.  See Dodgeball is a game where the point is to hit other people with balls.  For a girl who is scared of balls being thrown at her face this game does not bode well, but normally when playing (with a certified PE instructor) you use soft foam balls that don't really hurt when they hit you, so I was able to overcome my fear for 4th grade PE class.
In fact in 4th grade I was pretty good at dodgeball.  Considering I had an early growth spurt and was the tallest person in my class people were scared of the King Kong sized girl and pretty much ran the other way when I had a ball in my hand. 

 
Little did they know I could hardly throw or that I wouldn't grow anymore and quickly would become the shortest girl in the grade.  But I digress...back to dodgeball.
Before graduating from the University of Iowa I had to take a PE class.  My friend G and I decided to take an easy Stretch & Tone class expecting it to be like the up and coming fad yoga (yes I know this dates me).  On the first day of class we came dressed and ready for yoga as did many of the other people girls.  As more and more people guys football players arrived for the class we (the girls) starting quietly talking about how they were not dressed appropriately for yoga showing up in baggy basketball shorts and t-shirts.  We figured after the first class they would realize that baggy clothes wouldn't work well for yoga.
However, it was us girls that were in for the surprise.  As class began this big burly muscle guy stood up and introduced himself as our instructor for the class.  He looked like he belonged in the weight room not teaching a yoga class.

What we expected                                What we got

He explained that we didn't need to buy the book that was listed for this course (girls had already purchased, ripped off the cling wrap, and looked through the book, guys cheered at not having to buy another book) because we would be doing our "own thing".  Sam Hell does "own thing" mean you ask???  Well let me tell you...

It means running the track, doing spider crawls, lunges, jumping jacks, weight training, oh yeah and playing stupid dodgeball.
After the first class I told my Dad I was dropping the class and would be taking an actual yoga class instead some other semester.  My Dad told me I was overreacting and to stick with the class.  He said the instructor surely couldn't be as terrible as I had explained.
So I stuck with it.  G and I made a pact that we would get through this awfulness together.  So two times a week, week after week we went to the stupid stretch and tone class and did NO stretching or toning.  One day the instructor e-mailed the entire class and told us to meet in the big gym past the swimming pool instead of in our regular area.  He said he had a special surprise for us.
When we arrived to the Big gym past the swimming pool we saw the special surprise.  We were going to be playing dodgeball.  Of course the football players cheered and the girls moaned and complained.  We were broken into two teams and told the rules.  Football players were not to throw their hardest or use the hard foursquare balls and no one was to aim for heads.  As the game got started it was clear the boys were not following the rules.  The instructor warned them, but really it did no good.  They continued to throw their hardest, throw the hard foursquare balls, and well they tried not to aim for heads.  Most of the girls let themselves get hit right away so they could be out and didn't have to play.  Key word there = Most.  Stupid me thought I was still the Amazonian woman from 4th grade and actually tried to play against these guys.  Let's just say it ended with me on the floor with an imprint of a foursquare ball on my face and everyone rushing to make sure I wasn't knocked unconscious while I held back tears of pain / embarrassment. 
 Luckily the instructor felt bad for me and didn't make me play the rest of the day.  Oh yeah, and he was nice enough to e-mail me later on and make sure I was ok.  Which was pretty cool since I ended up marrying him :)  Yep, you read that right.  The instructor = Tom.  If it wasn't for dodgeball, a pretty crappy yoga class, and my Dad encouraging me to stick with the class,  I never would have met the man of my dreams :)
Oh and did I mention this all happened on my birthday???  Pretty great way to celebrate I would say.