Bucket of Balls

The description of his reaction I received was "His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree!" I had called home on a Friday afternoon, said I was leaving work early and asked my son if he wanted to go hit a bucket of balls. (Working what have been 60-70 hours weeks of late has made that VERY unusual!)

Now, HE'S a golfer- shooting in the 80's or sometimes 90's. But for 16 that's great. He wants badly to play more. I should have helped that happen more. I'M a hacker- shooting in the realm just past embarrassment. But we went and we got the LARGE buckets and we started hitting.

It was a blast. He can drive the ball almost 300 yards. It's that whole control thing that he....and I.... struggle with. Just like when he was pitching in baseball or trying to score a goal in soccer. Plenty of power- plenty of skill- trying to harness all that and bring it under control.

We bonded- but I believe men bond differently than women. I don't mean this as some sexist rant at all, I just think it's different sometimes. We didn't say a lot. The act of asking had said so much. His excitement at going had also said so much. A couple of "wows!" from me interspersed by the old Dad willfully accepting coaching tips from the more experienced son did quite a lot. After about 20 balls, I broached, "So when is Homecoming?" He responded with the date. "Gonna go?" I asked. And there he went- talking about the young ladies he likes and who he might go with and who broke up with who and all the things a dad loves to hear but sons don't always want to say.

It was an incredible afternoon- and long overdue. I don't really like golf all that much, but I can tell I'm going to be playing more and more.

Friends

Monday was a rough day for me on many fronts. But the amazing thing was, these friends of ours called and asked us over for a Labor Day barbecue. Now that might not seem like much, but it was truly fantastic. They have a pool, so the kids swam and had a blast. We brought dessert, and some sides, but they provided the chicken and dogs and grill. We "men folk" went out to cook and just talk while the ladies stayed inside and did whatever they wanted. So here's the thing- my mind was occupied, but not by sad thoughts. My family was occupied, but not by sad thoughts. After cooking we went inside and the kids ate in one room, and we four good friends went to another just to talk. We reminisced about good times, laughed, joked, (didn't laugh sometimes) and yes even cried. But we did it within the supporting confines of true friendship, where no offense is given nor taken, and you can let your hair down and just say what's on your mind- well.... most of it. It was just the thing I needed to get through that day. How did they know? True friends just know. That's why we love them so much.