$65 Well Spent

This morning, I lost the cat & mouse game with the bedroom clock. I closed my eyes for what I expected to be no more than another five minutes only to wake 20 minutes later, or at 545am. Not to worry, however. All that really meant was that I had to remain a bit more mindful of the time, which translated into less PC time. Of late, I haven’t been spending that much time surfing anyway. I exercised and took care of my eyes before pouring coffee. I sat at the PC for no more than ten minutes breaking away to wake Mindy just before 610am. It was already 50 degrees under clear skies. Expecting to touch the low 70’s by mid-day. After waking Mindy I returned downstairs to meditate and stretch. Both served me well. I didn’t head out the door for my run until 640am – slightly behind schedule. No worries. It was a gorgeous morning for a run. My eye sight was once again clear. Without strain, I could read signs and see the horizon clearly even in the less than ideal lighting conditions. Very encouraging! I ran four miles and finished feeling strong. Mindy was already busy in the kitchen making breakfast. It was 720am. Bella complained of itchy eyes. They were puffy and swollen. She’s been whiny every day that her allergies have been an issue – hardly a coincidence. She doesn’t feel well. While Mindy prepared to leave, I spilled an entire cup of hot coffee on her while trying to open a new can of whipped cream. Oops! Sorry dear. I headed to the shower shortly after Mindy left. Mindful of my day, I dressed in attire appropriate for both work and my scheduled golf lesson (dockers and polo). The kids and I headed out at 757am. Actually, Jacob was already out the door like most recent days. This time he had on his jacket. There was a substitute bus driver. He looked familiar. Must be the same sub as many times past. Kenny asked if today was golf lesson day. Yes. I returned home to load my work gear and golf clubs into the Trooper. I could’ve taken the BM’er but opted not. I arrived at work at 830am, and it was a busy day from jump. We had our usual Wednesday staff meeting mid-morning that lasted until 11am or so. I spent the next hour and one half doing what I do which carried me up to golf lesson time. I left at 1240pm. I arrived a few minutes early. JR Able was relaxing in his office. He’s older, probably about 65. and quite friendly. I warmed to him quickly. Wanted to know how he could help me. I calmly explained my dilemma, which in a nut shell is, I can’t hit my irons to save my life since about halfway through last golf season. He grabbed his video camera and asked me to fetch a bucket balls and meet him on the lesson tees. He carried out my clubs. He pulled out my 7-ion and asked me to hit about a dozen balls while he observed and eventually filmed. Embarrassingly, I didn’t disappoint. I mishit all but one with most doing exactly as I shared – a sharp left, weak slice. He said not to worry. Far better for him to witness the problem first hand than to troubleshoot based on my story alone. Good point! He video taped me from multiple angles while I swung then asked me to following him into the office where he attached his video camera to a small monitor directly in front of my face. Just above was a large poster of the perfect golf swing broken into several segments – perhaps twelve. He complimented my swing as we broke it down frame by frame. Good stance, ball placement, and back swing. From there he played it through contact then backed up to contact to show me the problem. Each mishit was result of the club shank striking the ball, not the club head. I wasn’t rotating my hands at all. Freezing the video, he then compared my swing to the poster to emphasize where my hands should be at impact and then soon after. Said my glove should be pointing at the ground at the swings completion. Mine was almost on top – or no rotation at all - causing me to chop at the ball, most times with a completely open club face. We headed back to the lesson tees. He commented that he thought the fix would be simple, but would take some retraining of the mind/hands. He also shared how pleased he was to see that I hadn’t altered my “correct” address and swing in an effort to compensate, which, he said, is a much harder habit to break. Taking his rotation tips, I pulled out a half dozen balls and started hitting. I hit the first straight but low and weak. The next four or five were decent but still not the old me. The turning felt awkward but made total sense. Before long, I was cracking 'em like the old me – straight, high and long. Wow! After hitting about dozen in a row well, he brought me my 4-iron. Again, a club I would often revert to on a tight fairway before my troubles began. I struggled employing the same hand rotation technique, but they all went straight or a slight pull hook, which he said is what he expected. This a result of too much hand rotation or timing, which would only come with practice. The lesson was soon over. He’d spent his 30 minutes with me. He invited me to use the lesson tees to hit the rest of my jumbo bucket while he went to meet his next client. Asking how we might settle up, he offered that he doesn’t accept cards, which I didn’t know. Casually, he offered that I simply stop by over the next couple of day with cash or check. Cool! I decided to do an iron progression starting with my pitching wedge. I was anxious to get to my once trusty 6-iron but worked through the others first. With my 6-iron in hand I must’ve hit ten nearly perfect shots in a row. I was stoked. Feeling satisfied but with over a half bucket left, I moved down to the regular tees, where I felt far more comfortable unleashing the beast in me.  I hit my rescue club and 3-wood on the screws, and then got out my brand new 60 degree wedge. I hit it well, too. I used my 60 degree for some bunker practice later, just to compare it to my SW. I gave my last dozen balls to another guy I saw hitting his last. Said he had hit too many already. I walked back to my Trooper feeling great about my lesson – $65 well spent. I see it as an investment in my summer. Back at the office I went for my veggies almost right away. I was quite hungry. My afternoon was chalked full of activity that tested my mettle, but I worked through the battles and felt pretty good by day’s end. I had accomplished a lot. I left for home just after 530pm. By then, it was in the low 70’s, an absolutely ideal spring evening. Mindy was busy cutting veggies for tomorrow’s lunches. The kids were off playing. She shared an interesting story about her work day – more about her adversarial relationship with the school’s literacy coordinator (LC). The issue kept her at school until almost 5pm. That’s big! She asked about my golf lesson. I shared my story. Bella came in citing itchy eyes and scolding me for not stopping to get allergy eye drops. Mindy asked if I would agree to grilling steaks while she and Jacob ran off to Target to get the drops. Yes. I agreed. The steaks were floating in luke warm water in the sink – the old fashioned quick defrost method. I began seasoning the steaks even before Mindy left. I fired up the grill while taking in the lovely evening air from the deck. Bella hollered out her bedroom window that someone was at the front door. It was three young boys looking for Jacob. I shared that he was gone but would soon be home. I offered our backyard tree swings as a waiting spot. They excitedly threw down their bikes and headed back. I discovered that the third of the four burners on our grill causes excess heating for some reason. Not wanting to troubleshoot right then, I simply shut it down using only three. That gave me much more control over temperature and flame-up thus a better cooked steak. They were grilled to perfection just before Mindy & Jacob got back home. Bella wanted Fruit Loops – no steak. Jacob, Mindy & I enjoyed steak. We grilled three NY strips and two filets. I had strip while Mindy had filet. She ended up eating both filets but shared some with Jacob. After dinner Jacob headed out to play with the three friends still playing in our yard. They started playing with water guns and spray bottles. I laid down on the familyroom floor to rest and ease a knot that formed in my back during the afternoon, no doubt a byproduct of hitting a jumbo bucket of golf balls earlier. Albeit short, it was a blissful nap. I woke hearing Mindy washing and bandaging one of the boys playing with Jacob. Apparently wrecked on his bike just as he was leaving. Just a scrape. Not five minutes later Bella came in with a similar injury of her own. She slid down a wooden 4X4 and scraped her arm. She wasn’t crying until I said we’d have to clean it up and possibly put Neosporin on it. That set her off! She screamed bloody murder. Mindy came running. Bella was terrified that I was going to make it burn. Wouldn’t let her momma see it. While crying she cited Jacob as an example – when I put rubbing alcohol on his poison ivy. Yeah, I did that, and for good reason. Mindy calmed her. She washed it with cool water. We couldn’t find the Neosporin. Mindy seemed to recall giving it to Lindsey. Crisis finally over, I went to the familyroom chair for some reading. I read until I fell asleep. I noticed that my reading eyes are doing just as Dr Beran said. As my far and mid vision improves, my up close reading vision is worsening slightly. I read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open, or when reading suddenly and without warning turns to a dream – an interesting phenomenon. I woke at Mindy’s beckoning around 930pm. We headed for bed.