Written on 3-31-18.
I have work to do, but I’m not doing it…obviously. It’s not much, though. I need to review and make some changes for my upcoming 2-day Time to Teach training in Bloomfield that will be this Monday and Tuesday. I can do it later, and it won’t take long.
The biggest news today, and I am so excited about it, is that Daryl and Katie are about to have their first baby, which is momentous. My sister is about to become a grandma, and our parents will become great-grandparents for the first time, too. The last text said that Katie was taking an hour break before going back to pushing again. Her water broke yesterday, so I was expecting this baby girl to be here by now, but it’s up to that little girl. The young man who is the father of that little girl was born when I was doing my student-teaching, and that was when I became an uncle for the first time. From this perspective, it’s a truly generational thing, and it’s the beginning of this generation’s turn.
We had Todd and Zoe over her for lunch today, and they were very accommodating with my having my phone unmuted and right next to me while we ate. They are painting their rental home here in Aztec, so Belinda gave them options for...
a time they would be willing to come by and eat and visit with us. It was fabulous to see them and catch up. Soon, they will be empty-nesting like we are, and just like we were, they are unsure about what to expect. Time keeps marching on, and there’s no stopping it. With this new baby possibly minutes away from being born, and with revisiting old friends and catching up, it is more apparent today than most. Their baby, Natasha, who was born when they taught overseas in the U.A.E. will be graduating from Durango High School this year. We’ve known her since she was a toddler.
I am watching the Houston Open on this Holy Saturday. I more than likely would have gone to church on Holy Thursday and Good Friday for Holy Week, but something is wrong with me. I hope it’s not too serious. I have asthma, but it’s gotten worse lately. When I was in Las Cruces for another Time to Teach training, a follow-up at Sunrise Elementary, I worked out with the Kyle and Danielle one night. I had a feisty attack, and I did not bring my rescue inhaler to combat it. Since then, I have struggled. I’ve coughed more than I usually do, and I’ve upped my Advair dosages from once a day to twice. My guess is that I have a cold, and that is exacerbating my asthma symptoms. I hope that’s all that it is. My coughing attacks cause me to see stars and feel lightheaded, and that is atypical.
On to golf…
I have a funny story to relay from when I played at Red Hawk.
*Bev just texted that Katie is going to start pushing again. Hooray!
At the turn, I had already ordered a sandwich, but Baxter and Cara had not ordered anything, so we went our separate ways. They said they would catch up to me, but I knew that they wouldn’t, so we chose to say goodbye. I teed off on #10 alone, and things were beginning to get gusty. Before I left the green, I noticed a foursome teeing off behind me, so I was confident I could keep ahead of them, but was I wrong.
They must have been either really good, or they just kept a fast pace of play. I would turn around, and they would be right there. Sometimes, however, I would get ahead of them and leave them in my dust.
When I got to the par three #13, they were nowhere to be seen, so I took a breath and called the pro shop and restaurant to check on my lunch. The cart girls were going to deliver my sandwich, so I wanted to let them know where I was.
I had gotten a par on a hole just like this one on the front nine, hole #7, and I actually thought this was the exact same hole, but it wasn’t. The green stuck out like a fat peninsula, so it had water before, behind, and out to the left. My tee shot didn’t look too bad, but to be honest it came out lower than I wanted. My ball bounced before the green, rolled all the way across it (the wind helped), and fell into the water behind. Bummer!
I pushed my cart down there and parked it on the way to the next hole. I peeked over the edge of the eight-foot wall to see if I could glimpse my ball in the water, but I didn’t see anything, not even other peoples’ golf balls. I didn’t even bother to officially drop my golf ball, because the area around the green sloped right back into the water, so I placed my golf ball and prepared to play my next shot.
The motion of my golf cart caused me to look in that direction, and I saw that it was now on its way down a slope and headed for the wall and then the water. I was a pitch shot away, so I had no chance to stop it, but I tried with my voice.
“No! Please stop! No!”
It didn’t work. My cart had enough speed to jump off of the wall. All four wheels landed in the water, and then it toppled over backward. I scrambled down where I could, and I stepped out into the water to retrieve my clubs. Thankfully, the water was not deep, and I was able to walk out and grab it without sinking my feet into the water. I dragged it back up the slope, and I made sure to put the brake on this time. Thankfully, no damage had occurred. Chewbecca’s hair was wet and matted, and my scorecard was half-soaked, but that was about it. Phew! I wasn’t happy about it, though. I wasn’t at all like Frog from Smokey and the Bandit after she and the Bandit took their first jump across the bridge, and screamed, “I want to jump something else!”
I kept looking up to the teeing ground, too. I did not want anybody to see me fishing my golf push cart and clubs out of the water. Thankfully, I got them out before the persistent group behind me came over the hill. Phew!
Despite being rattled by the water incident, I managed two difficult pars, and Baxter and Cara actually did catch up to play with me one last time on hole #18. With the wind, though, it was getting pretty ridiculous, so I could see why they chose to just pass groups and holes until they caught up with me again. With the tough course and the escalating windy conditions, I managed to shoot ten strokes above my average. I look forward to going back, and I may get a free pass from an EA at Sunrise Elementary. We shall see if that actually happens, though.
*I just got another text from Bev. Katie’s mom said she is still pushing, but is so close. Soon, we will have a new baby girl in this family! So exciting!
Until next time…
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