Breaking 40 ... but not me

In what seems to be becoming habit, I wasn’t out of bed and downstairs until 5:40am. It’s not an issue during the summer, but once school starts up that ten minute delay will become critical. I did a full complement of exercises and then leashed up Ykraps. For the first time in a while, I didn’t do any PC time in between sit-ups and push-ups. That saved me 5-10 minutes. Also, I remembered the Perseid meteor storm was supposed to be viewable early that morning, but was too late getting outside to catch a glimpse. Save for the bright moon over head, conditions were ideal. Shoot! The morning temperature was cooler than it’s been for a number days, but it was still in the upper 60s. I was back at home for coffee by 6:05am. I spent a good 15 minutes on the PC before giving way to meditation and stretching. I could tell that Mindy put scented baking soda on our carpet. It smells like flowers. I left for my run at 6:45am. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning for a run and again the sun was just coming up over the horizon when I initially set out. I worked up a good lather. I toweled off with a fresh beach towel once I was back at home. I started prepping my breakfast and packing my lunch immediately. It was already 7:30am. I finished breakfast and headed up for a shower at 7:50am. I hustled through my shower and prep. I wore my new wicking golf shirt and grabbed a pair of shorts to toss in my back pack. I asked Mindy if she planned to join me downstairs. She did. Mumbled something about needing to start getting up earlier now that school time is back. She joined me for coffee in the kitchen. I loaded my golf clubs and golf shoes into the trunk of the BM’er. This was a golf Wednesday. Mindy and I sat together enjoying some coffee for about ten minutes. Her day would be spent putting her classroom together. She planned to take Jacob & Bella along with her. She also planned to have one of her former students help. I left for work at 8:15am. This was a meeting Wednesday. I was happy to find my boss and peer in a much better moods. As is usually the case, the morning moved along quite fast. It was afternoon before I realized it. And immediately after our staff meeting I woofed down my packed nuts, veggies, and fruit. I was starving. More often than not, I eat the nuts around 10-1030am. That way I never get ravenously hungry. That’s a far better plan. The afternoon went pretty fast too, especially since it was a golf Wednesday. I confirmed via email Bob’s intentions to golf. It would be just he & I. Tom should be able to join us beginning next week when his new schedule kicks in. I changed into my golf shorts in my office and behind closed doors. I left for Split Rock at 4:30pm sharp. Traffic was a tad heavy at the Hilliard I-270 interchange but loosened up quickly. I made it to Split rock by 5:05pm. For the first time, I checked the mileage from I-71 and rt 665 to Split Rock – 9 miles. I casually went about readying myself for nine holes of golf. I knew Bob would be a little bit yet. I was able to practice putting and chipping. I fetched a cart and paid my fees then went to the lot to wait for Bob. He showed up around 5:25pm. We tee’d off hole #1 by 5:30pm. I started really well for a change. I was on #1 in two strokes, but couldn’t convert the birdie or par putt. I took a bogey. Bob par’d it. Number 2 is a 145 yard downhill par 3. I hit a nice 8-iron on and within about 12’. I par’d it. Moving on to #3, a 500 yard par 5, I hit a decent drive and then a nice 3-wood to leave myself about 50-60 yards out. I then discovered that I left my PW & SW resting along the fringe of #2. Crap. I drove back to get them. I worried that the brief diversion might errode my mojo but it didn’t. I put my SW with about 12’. I missed the birdie but converted for par. Three holes and three birdie putts. It doesn’t get much better. Bob and I were neck and neck. He hadn’t played for about three weeks, but you couldn’t tell it. We both went slightly right off the #4 tee. We could still see the green but needed to hit high arching shots over trees to get there from about 150 yards. I went first and clipped the tree top sending my ball straight down into the tree grove. Crap! Bob didn’t do much better but got a much more favorable bounce and lie. I had to squeeze my third shot between trees while avoiding yet another. I was just off the green in four. Chipped on and one putted for a six. That was the beginning of a string of four 6s. Included in that run were two crappy duck hooks with my mid-irons. I was laboring on those holes. Moving on to #8 - a 150 yard par 3 (down a hill and then back up). I hit a horrible 8-iron, slicing it hard left. This was the very hole where this problem first surface about three or four weeks ago. In fact, I had pretty much the same lie. The pin was just over the tree tops. This time however, I was about 5 yards closer to the tree line. I hit a remarkable SW up and over the trees and landed it within about 15’ feet of the pin. I was very excited, but also distraught over leaving myself in such a predicament in the first place. I missed the par putt but salvaged the bogey. As Bob and I drove to the #9 tee box I let him know that if he par’d the hole he’d break 40. He was 3-over through eight holes. He hit a fair/poor drive to the right. I hit mine to the left. The right hand side leaves one far better than the left. My ball rolled to the edge of the woods in tall grass, but still playable. Bob just needed to clear a few scattered young trees. I had no choice but to use my pitching wedge to get my ball out into play. I managed to get it within 20’ of the green, certainly not a bad shot from where I was. Unfortunately, I got tentative with my pitch and left myself still just off the green. I took another 6. Meanwhile, Bob hit his approach short of the green too. He wasn’t pleased. However, he hit his 3rd shot to within a foot of the hole. He did it – 39. I shot a 47. Nice job Bob! We made loose plans to golf over the coming weekend but couldn’t firm anything up. We agreed to workout the details over the coming days. I headed for home at 7:18pm. It was a gorgeous night to be driving the BM’er. And the drive home from Split Rock is always a lovely one. Instead of jumping on I-270W fro m71N, I took it all the way up to I-70W. I was home in 27 minutes and measured it to be a 23 mile drive. No one was home when I arrived. I hurried through rinsing my dirty lunch dishes and prepping Thursday’s coffee. Mindy arrived home about ten minutes after me. She’d been grocery shopping. Not thinking I was home, she came in the door asking “who’s here?” Not sure what that was about! Who else would it be? I helped her carry in the groceries. Both of us were hungry. No. Wait. I was starving! Mindy suggested we have nachos with Sunday’s leftover taco meat. I prepped a plate of nachos while she put the new food away. Not long after the nachos came out of the microwave, the kids got home from their evening with dad. The kids came in the front door and rushed right out the back, off to play with the neighbors. The nachos were OK and filling, but honestly, not as good as I had hoped. That’s OK. While the kids played, I did some writing and also read about the last day of Vikings’ training camp. Chrissy stopped over around 9:30pm, about the same time that we called the kids inside. I asked if Kenny could golf on Saturday. She said yes, as long as he would be home by 1pm. I recognized that to be a tall order, but not impossible. That would mean a 7:30am tee time. Yikes! At the same time, Mindy and Chrissy worked out a deal for Mindy to keep Chrissy’s kids on Friday while Chrissy agreed to keep Jacob and Bella early Saturday afternoon so Mindy can go to her yoga class. Everybody wins! When Chrissy left, Mindy urged the kids upstairs for their showers. The kids weren’t in bed until 9:45pm and we were right on their heels. I was beat.