This Summer Has Gone Exceedingly Fast... Or Is It Just Me?

This morning Mr. Snooty and I played golf early, with our Galveston friends who are home for a couple of weeks. It was the most beautiful morning. No one really cared as much about the game as we did about the beauty of the moment. I opted to play without keeping score today. Of course, that was in no way influenced by what looked to be an all time high score on the front nine. Noooo. No. However, I believe that once in a while you just need to give yourself a break from the rigid rules of golf (especially we who hack) and try to remember what it felt like when it was just for fun and not a lower, better score.

It seems as if sometimes I lose focus on why I'm out there trying to hit a little bitty old ball with a little bitty old club. There are times I've thought about digging up the old boy who invented this crazy game... just so I could give him 40 lashes along with a piece of my mind. You know. As if that would do any good whatsoever for my game. This game makes you think crazy things and since I'm a bit loonier than the average gal, I suppose I come up with an abundance of what I like to think of as Extreme Thinking. Let's just call it ET for short, shall we?

One of my Extreme Thoughts has been that I have to look absolutely perfect in order to play a good game of golf. That was extremely wrong. Ok. I know a wealth of women who do not go to such measures and they are great golfers. That ET is shot all to Hell.

Another Extreme Thought has been that there is no need to go to the driving range prior to playing. If there were actually any truth to this, then it wouldn't be taking me 12 holes to warm up. Right? ET number two is also shot down.

Extreme Thought number three has been that I aspire to be consistent in my game. Unfortunately, consistently bad wasn't quite what I'd had in mind. ET number three has now gone the way of the others. Hmmm... So far, I'm 0 for 3 which is looking rather grim.

I've always preferred to play early because of my Heat Induced Turrett's Syndrome, which is my next ET. However, life being full of little trade-offs as it is, I have to play when it's very early and really wet on the course, so the ball doesn't get much roll. If I played later in the day when it's dry, I'd get a lot more roll on my ball, but I'd be on the verge of tongue-hanging-out heat stroke.

Okay, so I'm thinking about all these different ET's (yes, there are many more but I won't bore you with them today...) instead of thinking about my game or just enjoying the beautiful day. So, I decided to stop myself right then and there. I thought it was more important to *smell the roses* so to speak, than to worry about a golf game that had already taken a left turn somewhere, when I'd taken a right. I keep forgetting that I should be enjoying every precious day that the Good Lord gives me, often getting caught up in a moment rather than just enjoying a moment.

At the same time, it seems the Summer has come and is almost gone, leaving me to wonder where it all went. How could it have gone so fast? Did it come and go in between doing laundry, cleaning house, running errands, playing golf games and taking weekend trips? It would appear so. I cannot help but think it passed while I wasn't paying attention. It must have happened when I wasn't stopping to smell the roses because I was, as usual, trying to beat the clock. I'm growing weary of trying to beat the clock and am quite ready for a slower pace at this juncture in my life. You know. The point in my life when I fully realize that I am peaking the good ole Mid Life Hill, on the verge of crossing over it altogether.

I honestly think that I should be bawling like the first time I left my daughter at camp, but I am not. It seems that I am well equipped for this next phase in my life, and coming to embrace it as well. When the hell did that happen? I mean, it seems like just yesterday when I was being dragged into the Mid Life phase of my life, kicking & screaming bloody murder. The acceptance thing just sneaked right up behind me, without me ever having noticed it. Hmmm... that's funny. Rather like old age in general. Yes. Indeed.

So, today my advice to you all is to go forth and smell the roses while you totally relish in the moment. EMBRACE LIFE!