Thanks for the Ride, Green Callaway Golf Ball!

Written on 3-23-24.

      It’s a Saturday afternoon, and B and I are having some quiet time.  She is resting in our bedroom, and I just moved from our computer room to the living room in order to stretch out on the couch.  My back is aching a bit after sprinkling in a few of the 21-Day Fit Extreme workouts in the past couple of weeks and a crowded ride to Albuquerque in the Edgerton’s truck.  Normally, that wouldn’t be too bad, but like I wrote above, we brought a lot of stuff to give to the kids and it was a bit cramped.

I have so many things to write about I don’t know where to begin, so I will simply start.

I finished my last day at Newcomb on Thursday, so I am done with work for this year.  I submitted my invoice and my travel reimbursement, so the only final “to do” items have to do with some follow-up with some teachers at both schools.  It feels surreal to be done with work in March, but I have plenty to do in April and May.  Of course, I have more time freed up for...

golf, so I will do that.  I played yesterday, and we play at Hillcrest this Wednesday.  We also have our big golf road trip to Page at the beginning of April.

I am thinking of doing all the spring clean-up stuff with the extra time.  Belinda and I usually do that together, but I will just take over and do it by myself now.  Things like cleaning the windows and washing and waxing the vehicles.  I have already cleaned the Alto, and Belinda helped me finish it up this morning, so we could get it covered again.  It’s supposed to be super gusty tonight, so we did that just in time.

Becca came and visited everyone here in Aztec after we picked her up in Albuquerque, (thus the cramped trip in the truck).  That was one of the reasons for that drive there.  What a wonderful gift for all of us to be able to see her in all of her pregnant glory.  On her return, she texted that she had thrown up on the plane into her hands (yikes!), so that made the gift even greater.   Thank you, Becca, for making a selfless trip!

James has a new job at Pom’s Risk Control and Insurance as a vice president, a title he was given in order to be able to get meetings?  He will be learning about business insurance premiums, and he has the opportunity to earn more money with commissions.  Hopefully, this job will suit him and his talents.  He got it through Grant Banash, and I believe Grant recommended him highly.  Thank you, Grant, and congratulations, James.

Danielle has made it through her sixth week, so she is officially one-third of the way through the fire academy.  She is still determined, like her mother, to continue on and fight the good fight to be in the service of others…and to make some money and have a schedule that suits her.

ShyShay has chosen where she will go to college!  She was given an offer to play volleyball at William and Mary, which is very near Colonial Williamsburg.  Guy says it’s right next door.  Another girl/setter declined their offer, and Shylah was their second choice, so they gave her a call.  She was told to let them know by this past Tuesday, but she went ahead and accepted on Monday.  This was exciting news for our family, and it comes after much heartbreak and hard work after her knee injury, so congratulations to my niece!

On to golf…

Eric, Greg, and I played at Pinon Hills yesterday on a beautiful weather day, probably the best day yet this spring.  I even wore shorts.  I asked Herman (not his real name) if he could join us, but he was heading to Pueblo for a big tournament for his daughter.  He played earlier in the day, and we even saw him when he was playing hole #15.  Eric asked his brother, Brad, but he had other plans, too, so it was just the three of us.

We chose to play the 1, 2, 3 points game this time, and what follows are the highlights.

We played really well on the front nine.  Eric had two birdies, one on #2 and the other on #5, and he shot a 41.  After the round in the parking lot, he said it was his best nine hole score in a long time.  I agree.  He played solidly.  

After seven holes, I was losing the game, and I was three over!  Eric had 17 points, Greg had 18, and I only had 11.  By the end of the front nine, Greg and I had scored a 42 each, and I had caught up.  They both had 18, and I scrapped my way up to 17 on the last two holes.

Eric faded on the back nine (I felt bad for him), but he had the longest drive I have ever witnessed on the par five hole #13.  He earned the two bonus points for that longest drive on a par five with no problem.  His ball finally stopped even and to the left of the 150 yard marker, making his drive an absolutely crushed 328 yard drive, according to the scorecard.  

Greg continued his solid play, but he just did it while missing fairways and greens, or at least fewer than I hit.  He had the lowest back nine score with a 46 for a final score of 88.

I played so well on the first part of the back that I raced ahead of them and then I stayed there.  I was only one over after the first five holes, and I earned 16 more points during that stretch.

I had a lime-green Callaway ball that I had used for the first 14 holes, and it did really well for me…up to that point.  Unfortunately, I lost it on hole #16.  Literally and figuratively.  I scored an eight on that little par three, but my position in the game didn’t change, because Eric and Greg didn’t earn any points either.  Just my score and my pride went south on that hole.  I will miss you little green Callaway ball; it was a fun ride.

Greg earned five more points on hole #16, but I kept him from scoring any more points on the last two holes by tying his scores.  The final scores were Pat: 33, Greg: 26, and Eric: 23.  My final score ended up being an 89 (that’s with the five over score on #15), and Eric scored a 94.

It was fun!  We talked for a little bit in the parking lot after it was all over, and we all agreed that we are super excited for the Page golf trip coming up in early April.  We plan to play again at Hillcrest this Wednesday, too, so I hope I can keep this streak alive.

I know that the mental training I am doing has helped.  I have listened to Dawn Grant’s mental training audio three times now, and it has helped my confidence and quelling any anxious or negative feelings that pop up during a round.  When we all started playing so well on the front nine, I was relaxed and poised.  I didn’t panic even though I was losing.  It was a wonderful feeling of calmness that carried over onto the back nine. 

Until next time…