Squeezing Golf In

 

Juggling a demanding job and many domestic responsibilities, it is important to have one's own leisure pursuits. Everyone beyond the worst alcoholics readily acknowledge this. But making room for those pursuits is far easier said than done.

Granted, some people's hobbies don't involve a 4+ hour jaunt through nature while hitting little white balls with different size metal sticks, let alone the 20- to 60-minute one-way commute to get to said places. So perhaps a less time-ambitious activity would be easier to squeeze into a crammed schedule. 

Still, I've made peace with the fact that it is acceptable that, amid my obligations to family and office, I make time once a week for a round of golf, and usually find a bonus round some other time in the month so call it five or six times a month that I'm able to indulge in my hobby. All well and good, but it still requires literally making time. My schedule was packed to the gills pre-golf,  so where do these 6-hour time windows come from? Especially when I really try to keep my phone in my pocket so that I am as unplugged as possible during that time.

For my weekly fix, Friday mornings are carved out for getting 18 holes in. That often means a late night on Thursday to tend to work things, which if I didn't handle the evening before would wait until at least Friday afternoon, and in many cases that is an unacceptably long delay. Speaking of Friday afternoon, that time of the work week, a popular one for folks to socialize about or individually make weekend plans, is usually a hectic one for me, squeezing in any meetings that couldn't land elsewhere in the week, catching up to what I missed for the first half of Friday while I was on the golf course, and trying to meet the invariable cluster of multiple end-of-week deadlines on my plate. 

My pre-round time can be equally hectic. No matter how early the tee time (and I like as early as possible), I've usually dealt with emails, social, gym, and groceries beforehand. Plus, to balance Amy handling kid drop-off, I also have to take care of putting away last night's dishes, setting up Asher's breakfast, and packing his lunch.

Three or four times a year, I had been in the habit of taking the train to a nearby city, leisurely reading a book along the way, and biking around to my heart's content upon arrival. No plans, no meet-ups. Just me being in total control of where to go and what to do for the day. What a nice break from the go-go-go of toggling between work and home responsibilities.

Since I picked up golf, I usually drive, since it's hard to get to a course with your bag without a car. But those personal days still pick back up on my past routine, stashing my car in a convenient location and navigating the rest of the city via bicycle. 

Alas, time does not expand to accommodate these personal days. So the same prep applies. A late night the day before so nothing is in limbo for too long. An early morning rise to get to the course for the earliest tee time possible even if I'm driving two or three hours, and so I can finish my day in time to be home for family dinner or at least by Asher's bedtime.

There'll come a time in my life when golf doesn't need to be squeezed in. The kids will eventually leave the nest (so I've heard). I may reach the age when I no longer have to work, or at least grind it out like I do now. I often come in contact with folks on the golf course in this stage of their lives. They look supremely relaxed and happy. I try to join them in that state of mind, at least for 18 holes, even if I can't live it up like that before and after. It's good practice for what I hope to achieve some day soon.