Happy Birthday, Dad! and the End of the Great Game

    Today is my dad's birthday!  Happy 76th, Dad!  We will have our usual fun celebration at Mom and Dad's tonight, complete with yummy White Fence Farm take-out, our annual "Joe Christmas," and the opening of some birthday gifts with Belinda, Theresa, and of course, Dad.

12-20-11
    Got the best Christmas gift I could get this year after visiting Dr. Maurin’s office today for a follow-up MRI visit.  I admit thoughts of possible doom entered my head before going, but all was fine when we saw him and heard the news, and the news is... great!  No problems and not another MRI for a year.  Belinda and I figured out that it was six months less one day that we got the other MRI, the first one that sent us catapulting into craniotomy chaos.  Merry Christmas to us!

12-24-11
    On the back nine of our competition (which really was the front), the United States was still one up, and I was...

13th Excerpt From My Original Golf Diary-Old Settler's and Indian Hills

     In this rather lengthy excerpt, I am ironically back in Yuma, CO, but for Old Settler's Day and not Grandma's funeral.  Grandma would have been in her mid eighties for this visit.  It was a much happier time.  Instead of my cousin Jeff standing to talk about his memories of Grandma at her wake and my reading her eulogy at her funeral, we are winning the coveted "Egg Toss" competition on Main Street in Eckley.  We also played some golf.  I wrote AM for Annmarie's name, so that is what that stands for.  I also turn in my first ever score for my handicap, and it is not good, which speaks highly of how far I have come.  

11-1-00
    Haven’t written in a long while.  Here is what I need to catch up on.  My tenth “real” birdie! Playing golf in Yuma again with Jeff, Guy, and AM. A long putt during practice with the Aztec Golf team.  And my lessons.

Pinon Hills-Hole 12
    This was the first time I really officially turned in a score for my handicap.  I scored a...

Christmas Wishes

   On my Christmas wish list are some new irons from Wishon.  Oh, and a new Wishon 4-iron hybrid.  Oh, and a new driver (also from Wishon), but that can wait until January and my birthday since they are coming out with a new model next month.  And, I might find a different driver more to my liking. In all, with special friendly coaching discounts from Don (last name), the cost will be $821.25.  That really is a great discount; thank you, Don.  These clubs would most likely be the last ones I ever receive, but they might not.  Never say never.
    Some new clubs would be fantastic.  I would like to have a complete set of Wishon clubs some day, and it will bug me until it’s done, but that kind of thinking seems silly and pointless since those are just things.  After my brain surgery, my perspective has not changed; I am still well-grounded, and I know what is important in life.  My trust in God, my time with family, and my career are my priorities.  My wish is for these things to continue, to have a wonderful life worth living.
    Speaking of my surgery, my new CaringBook book came in today.  The site has a link where a book can be made, so I ordered one.  It looks polished and beautiful.  I am happy to have a finished product with all of my chronicles from my caringbride.org site, one that I can hold in my hands.  That site was ideal for people to check in before, during, and after the surgery.  It was also a perfect place for me to vent, reflect, and figure out what was happening to me through my writing.  Here is address again: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickswope/journal.

The Great Game Continued and My 12th Birdie

    Hole #18 was incredible; we all got birdies!  Here’s how I got mine with a little bit about how they got theirs thrown in. 

Hidden Valley-Hole #18-Birdie #12 of 2011 and Eighth Post-Surgery Birdie

    I chose not to go for the fairway on #3 this time.  My drive ended up right, but I had a decent lie.  The problem was the trees were in my way.  My consistent ball flight is a draw or straight.  I rarely fade or slice, but now I was forced to try and do that, and I failed in an epic way.  I did everything I knew about slicing to try and get it to go that way.  I moved my left foot back, I made my swing more upright, I gripped the club tighter and I made a faster swing, but...

A Great Game Recently Played

    I want to recount the last time I played with Bruce and C.J. now.  It was fun, and I need to do this to help ease the suffering I’m going through.  It’s not so much about Grandma dying, but it’s that I have a cold, the truck just broke down, our master bath sink is leaking, and so is the pipe below the house for our tub.  I also misplaced my earmuffs.  They are in the van here somewhere, but with all the piles it’s too difficult to search for them now.  I spent hours in my classroom on both Friday and yesterday to get ready for a sub for the next two days.  I’m slightly miserable, so writing about this will help my mood.
    C.J. came up with the greatest game.  It was during the President’s Cup, so he used that for his inspiration.  For three holes, one of us was the International player and the other two were the Americans.  The International player got one mulligan per hole, and the Americans got to use their best score.  Every three holes, we would switch, so here’s how it played out.
    We started on the back nine, and...