The Golf Lesson

August goal = 135 miles
Miles walked = 75
Miles to go = 60

I walked 20 miles on Sunday, 4 on Tuesday and 8 on Thursday. I hope to walk another 4 tomorrow and 15 on Saturday with my training buddy, Julie.

The 20 miles on Sunday went surprisingly well. I wasn’t even sore the next day. My good friend Tanya joined me for the first 10 miles. It was her birthday and she decided to torture herself with a 10 mile walk on her birthday! Crazy girl! But I was grateful for the company. It does make the miles go by much quicker.

Today I walked 8 miles around my neighborhood lake. There’s a 0.9 mile track around the lake and some kids were hitting golf balls into the lake. They ranged in age from about 5 to 9.

At first I was thinking to myself “Look at those trouble makers hitting balls into the lake!”

By about the third lap around I realized I was thinking like a grumpy, sour-puss old lady. The kids were being respectful of people using the exercise path and were not hitting balls at ducks or anything.

So on my fourth lap around I gave them a big smile and by the sixth lap around the ring-leader of the group, a nine year old boy, flagged me down and asked if I wanted to try hitting a ball into the lake.

Me, never having golfed before, said “Sure, why not!” So I grabbed the club and he set up the ball on a tee for me.

First swing….miss

Second swing…miss

Third swing…miss

The group of kids were being so kind and encouraging to me. Little six and seven year olds were saying…

“Don’t worry, it gets easier. It is hard at first. Keep trying. Here, I’ll set up the tee better for you. Don’t give up.”

I felt like an idiot but I kept trying and the fourth swing shot the ball into the water.

Cheers and applaud erupted from the group of kids and the ring-leader gave me a high-five!

I thanked him for the golf lesson and he just beamed! As I was walking away I heard him proclaim “I just gave a golf lesson!”

I had a smile from ear-to-ear the last 2 miles back to my house. You can learn a lot from children.