Catching Up, Springing Forward, and Finding Patience

Wow, I didn't realize that I haven't updated my happy place since January!  The past few months have flown by and I'm finding myself taking a collective breath on a Saturday morning.

In my Fantasy Golf world, it will come as no surprise to golf friends that I've been hovering below average so far.  I've missed a few weeks completely, but even when I do remember, I feel like I'm just rushing to post some names in.  I can't remember the last time I even went in to check if my Yahoo guys made the cut or not.  AND speaking of making the cut - was TOTALLY bummed out that I knocked myself out of the Buzz Fantasy League "Make the Cut Challenge" by forgetting to post a player.  I can't blame Jimmy Walker this year!

And speaking of Jimmy Walker, he's looking pretty good at the Valero Texas Open this week!  He's navigating the course and the winds down there!

Back in January, I had starting making plans for a Texas Golf Adventure that would have included a day or two at the Valero and playing golf with several friends.  But as my spring shaped up, I just couldn't make the logistics work out.  So I'm just a little jealous looking at the leader board thinking that I should be there!

I was especially looking forward to finally meeting and golf with one of my favorite people I've never met, Sam Johnson.  Sam was a golf blogger at one of my favorite sites...www.tees2greens.com.  I will never ever forget the first time I thought "this guy is nuts!" about Sam...it was when he said the PGA Tour player with the best boobs was Phil Mickelson - I know I thought (and probably said out loud to no one) - Did he just write that??!!  Oh he did.  And that was just the beginning.  I always looked forward to his weekly thoughts, rants, and scatter shooting...even if I didn't always agree with him.

It was at Tees2Greens where I got my own blogging opportunity.   It was and is something I am grateful beyond words for.  If it hadn't been for Sam and the folks at T2G, I wouldn't be writing this today at my own little happy blog spot.

Speaking of Sam - I know it's on the home page, too, but, it's worth another plug - Sam has put together a book of his best blog posts which you can buy on Amazon for a steal!! Only $5.99!  You can barely buy lunch for that kind of money any more and with Sam's book you can laugh, think, roll your eyes, and nod your head in agreement for over 200 pages!

My Texas Golf Adventure trip was put on temporary hold because back in November I reached out to some friends and fellow golfers to see if they would be willing to come together to help turn our local golf course around.  As I'm sure is the case in many communities all over the country, having a golf course make money can be a challenge.  And when you're in northern Minnesota with only around 200 days open, and maybe ideal golf weather for only about 80-90 days of that, things get even more challenging!

We met numerous times and finally decided to make ourselves official and send in a proposal to manage our golf course.  It wasn't like we didn't know it would be a lot of work, but when there a several moving parts happening at the same time, and some at their own pace, trying to get a plan in place can feel like a juggling act, except other people are either throwing balls at you or snatching them away.  But we made it through the first phase challenges and we are about to embark into the season that bring with it a whole new set of learning experiences.  

There's a lot I don't know yet, but what I do know is that we'll need to rely on our whole golfing family and our whole community to take this journey with us.  And I will sure appreciate any good thoughts or encouragement from my online golf friends as well!!

Part of what makes this time challenging is that for the first time in a few years we're looking at an early start to the season - I don't want to jinx it, but with a few warm days we should be able to see the frost coming up and green blades of grass making their way through dormant turf.  We've still got work to do, but I'm hoping we might see flag sticks going in within the next few weeks!

Speaking of the next few weeks...you know what's coming - and you know it's like a national holiday for me.  The MASTERS!!!  Oh my gosh...only 9 days - 9 DAYS!!  I will of course have much more to say, but for now I will leave you with my dream of a Steve Stricker Green Jacket is still alive and well!  I've even started on my Masters Sunday menu - breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks...it's going to be good!

It's funny, now that I think about it, I feel like I'm in a weird combination of my world speeding past me and in a holding pattern at the same time.  But I'm blessed to have in my world some amazing people who share sage advice, have a constant flow of encouragement, and are willing to roll up their sleeves (of their golf jacket) and pitch in to help.  (see what I did there?) 

Oh how I've missed this happy blogging place!!  THANK YOU Sam for reminding me how golf can spark my spirit, calm my anxiety, and fill my soul with happiness.

THANKS for reading and I'll be back soon with more golf love and more Masters!