My Kind of Day Off

Today was my day off, and it was a good day. It was the kind of day that left me tired and ready for bed, but I don’t want the day to end. My day began golfing with my youngest son Will (almost 12). I chose a three-par course since this was Will’s first time out. He did okay, and actually chipped one in from about 15 yards off the green. We grabbed lunch at McDonald’s on the way home. It was a veritable Hallmark Cards kind of father-son experience.

After we finished lunch, my golfing buddy Donny Clark picked me up, and we headed out for nine more holes. We tried a course that was brand new to me (Duck Hollow in Uniontown), and I really liked it… probably because I was hitting the ball fairly well. Hole #7 is a 165-yard three-par over a lake. I had a good drive and placed my ball nicely on the green. Donny hit his ball into the lake… no, wait; it skipped off the pond and onto the apron of the green! He might not walk on water, but he can bounce a golf ball off a pond! We laughed over that one. I had one of my best rounds ever going until the ninth hole, when it all went south. Sliced my drive putting a grove of trees between me and the green. Decided to go for it anyway. No guts, no glory. After hitting a tree, I asked God why I was blessed with guts instead of brains. By the time I hit another tree, then hit my ball way over the green AND three-putted, I ended up with a nine. It’s a wonderful thing to finish that bad and be able to laugh about it.

We were invited to spend the evening with Larry and Jane Ottenberg, some dear friends of ours from church. We cooked hot dogs and brauts over the fire, and had home made ice cream for dessert. Ben and Will got to ride a go-kart belonging to Larry and Jane’s grandson, and then we played a cutthroat game of croquet. Yes, we live on the wild side.

We got home and sat down as a family to watch the season finale of ABC’s Traveler (recorded on our DVR from a couple nights ago). It’s a show that all four of us really enjoy. Traveler was a mid-season replacement and it only had eight episodes. The finale tied up some loose ends, unveiled some surprises, and ended with a bang.

Hey, today was a great day. After reading Mark Driscoll’s Death by Ministry, a day like today was just what I needed.