Roll My Eyes and Si(gh)

Wielding a set of golf clubs, shoes and a hat, I drove my "Lil' Hummer" all over the great state of Washington this summer playing round after round of a game that can make a Buddhist Monk scream profanities after duffing an easy chip-shot, and make a Nihilist pray to God that his putt will drop.  I love playing golf for many reasons, none of which I will be able to put into words, because it's one of those indescribably beautiful art forms that no one will ever perfect.

What about Tiger ten years ago, or Rory now?  No, they have not perfected their golf game, and you know that each time they are interviewed.  "Rory, you won by 10 strokes! You must be happy with the way things went today?"  "Well, yeah Bill, but there are a couple of shots that I wouldn't mind having back to try again."  And there you have it.  A human's pursuit of perfection is not based on victory. It's based on what they feel they are capable of, and humans know that they can always do better.

Last summer, most of my rounds of golf scored in the mid to upper 90's.  This summer I was 90 pounds lighter and had a new set of clubs to go with my more athletic swing.  I was excited to see what I could do with my new weapons.  One of my first rounds of the summer was at a little cheap course in North Bend, Cascade Golf Course. I had never played there before, but was happy to have the chance to warm-up my swing on a short course with wide-open fairways.  On the last few holes I knew I was playing pretty well, and I was lucky with a few good bounces, but I was shocked to see an 86 on my scorecard at the end of the day.  I had only scored less than 90 once in my career before this day, and now I did in one of my first rounds of the summer?  In the back of my head, I knew the short, flat course with almost no hazards helped keep my score low, but I was jacked!

I stood for a moment and reflected on why I was so happy.  Was it because I beat Matt Mantie, a buddy who had been whooping me for years?  Was it just seeing a low number on the card?  Was it that I now had ammo to talk smack with other golfing buddies?  No. It was bigger.

I worked hard for six months to turn my health around.  I learned how to grocery shop for healthy foods, how to prepare them, when in the day to eat them and how to take simple steps to burn more calories in the day.  I lost 90 pounds, my cholesterol dropped 75 points, I was feeling healthy, and now I was playing golf better than I ever thought I could.  As I stood there thinking, I looked up at Mt. Si; a mountain I used to be able to hike with ease.  But I have not been able to hike in 8 years because my body was too heavy to carry up that trail.

I looked up at the peak and made a promise to myself that I would climb that mountain again, this summer!  I felt proud for making the goal, then cheesy for feeling proud...I rolled my eyes, gave myself a deep Si(gh), and walked to the car.

View from the top of Mt. Si on September 3rd, last day of the summer vacation, with Chris Harrison.