There was a time when I never thought about golf. A long time, like...most of my life. And if for some reason I did think about it, it was just "ooohh, golf is on t.v. again?" Now golf is a huge part of my life. Sort of. There was a time when I played golf. Not a ton, but enough where I went from never to frequent. As much as the game annoyed me, it drew me back. As angry and frustrated and positively ticked off I would get while hacking my way through various grasses and plant material, afterwards I would find myself wondering when I could go back. On the occasion that I made some remarkable swing, chip, putt -- no wait, never made a remarkable putt -- or whatever, that feat would make me feel like I could conquer the world. I haven't played in what is now going on a couple of years...hmm, wonder why. I highly doubt another round is anywhere in the cards for me in the near future either. But for some reason, it's been on my mind lately.
If you read the post from Mother's Day, you read all about Greta's proclamations of love and affections towards her family. This morning, all dressed up and looking pretty for the day, she stood in the doorway to my bedroom and -- complete with hands angelically clasped before her -- smiled and said to me "Mommy, you and Daddy and Clara are all in my heart. My whole family, even everyone in Michigan...(and yes, she named you all). Are all in my heart." I have to admit I was speechless. No words I can say, no hug I could give, could even compare to what she had just so honestly shared. I sat still for a moment, which actually must have been several because she smiled and scampered off into the other room before I had time to respond. I felt bad, but it was also clear she wasn't looking for me to say something. She was just saying what was on her mind. No strings attached, no reciprocation needed.
So, with all of that, I have come to a conclusion. Golf, and parenting really are not that much different. It only takes one great shot, one superior swing, one feeling that you may have come a bit closer to conquering the mystery of 'the game' to bring you back again and again (and, in our case, again). I know there will be moments/days/weeks that I will need to look back on this post and remember all of this, and I will not want to do that. And that's okay. I'll get up and start practicing my techniques all over again, find ways to improve, ready to try new things For the rare hole in one a golfer might be lucky to get in his/her lifetime, it takes thousands of shots in the water to get there. As a parent we might not always have thousands of chances to improve on something, but sometimes it's easier at least to figure out what went wrong in the first place.
Over on the side bar I have (hopefully) embedded a You Tube video from the Laurie Berkner Band singing the song that I am sure inspired Greta's tribute this morning. It is called "Family", and they play it on Nick Jr. quite regularly. She always sings along to itl
No comments:
Post a Comment