The Masters…

Last weekend as my dad and I slept through most of the Masters, I started reflecting on how golf resembles life. Now, I am not a golfer. I tried many times when I was younger and just didn’t have the patience to chase that little white ball over acres and acres of ground, often finding that it actually landed in a spot that eluded me. Watching the best in the world have some of the same failings I did did nothing to encourage my past efforts.

As the leaders teed off from the first hole, they amazed me with both their accuracy and, at times, their inaccuracy. Those who kept their drives in the fairway often found themselves with a seemingly easy par to start the day. The ones who found themselves in the rough, or even the trees, were referred to by the announcers as having “some work to do.” These players who found themselves off the fairway never panicked, they just got to work and took care of business. Most salvaged par and even those who didn’t walked onto the next tee box having already forgotten the recently made mistake.

As I go through my days, I envy these professional golfers. I think of how one mistake so often carries over to my next task, snowballing until an entire day can be ruined. Over the years I’ve gotten much better at forgiving myself. One of my favorite things in the classroom, and a favorite for the kids, is when they catch me in a mistake. These errors do come at a cost but it’s not something that will carry on to the next class or have the chance to affect how my day turns out. Push-ups are my “punishment” and my kids love to count them out. The usual number is 20, but I have made a 50-push-up mistake. I’m more careful in class now because while I used to be able to crank out 100 push-ups, Lou Gehrig’s disease has decided that a better number is 30.

Before I was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease I felt like I was coming up to my last par 5 and my intent was to go for an eagle. Walking away from that original diagnosis, I found myself deep in the woods off my drive. Still optimistic and hopeful, my next shot landed in the bunker when a test didn’t give me the results I’d hoped for. Still thinking positive, I approached the first visit at the ALS clinic, my third shot, with confidence. Well, that stroke found the water. Time to take a penalty and hope for a good drop. I’m still on that par 5 and planning to get through it without going into double digits, but hopeful that the round will come up a winner.

Before this hole I’ve definitely played the game of life below par. Sure, I’ve hit a bogey or two (the ranch has to be a double bogey), but I’ve also had many great shots that have left special memories and I am blessed enough to share them with you every week. No matter what, I know my best hole is still ahead of me.

The final hole on my golf course is the easiest par three on tour. I call the it “Heaven Sent”… Amy for short. Over the last 23 years it’s been nothing but good for me. There are no bunkers or water hazards and it’s always forgiving of bad shots. No matter how poorly I’ve played the rest of the course, Heaven Sent is always there waiting for me, helping me forget all the bogeys and promising I’ll never have a bad round.

As this week’s ramblings come to an end, I’d like to leave you something you may find humorous (and it comes at my expense).

One of my symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease is that I’ve become very jumpy. Specifically, my left arm will fly in the air when I am startled. Before ALS, it was very difficult to scare me and many of my students tried over the years. This weekend Amy got to see this firsthand new source of entertainment.

We were sitting on our couch at the end of our day watching the final episode of Blue Bloods (I know it aired months ago – we’re a little backed up in our viewing). As I raised my glass to take a drink, an unexpected gunshot occurred on the show. I proceeded to throw my entire drink in my own face. I was soaked. I’m just very thankful this happened in the privacy of our living room and not at a crowded restaurant.

Thank you all for the prayers, thoughts, good vibes, air hugs, and positive energy for Paul and his family. They really appreciate it. I do too.

One last song this week that will hopefully leave you with a smile for your Heaven Sent.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. Have a great weekend.

God bless.

Coach