Putting lessons

Well, it's the day after Christmas, and my family went and played our annual post-Christmas round of golf. It was a lovely 74 degrees today and an all-around fun day with the family. We played decent and had a good number of laughs throughout the day. Ryan and I even shared a high five (woohoo!).

Most people don't know that I lettered all four years of high school in golf, not basketball. My parents got my brother and me started at a young age. We hated it. But now that we're older, we appreciate them forcing us to take lessons and get countless blisters on our hands. As a family, we've played all over the country on family vacations. While we may not have enjoyed it then, we have many fond memories...and decent looking family pictures.

But if you've ever played golf with me, you know I am an awful putter, mostly because I never practiced. I address the ball, look at the hole, and (try to) get a reasonable measurement in mind. As soon as I actually putt, I usually go, "OH NOOOOOOOOOO!" and watch the ball sputter a few inches and roll down a hill or zing past the hole and off the green. Occasionally I get lucky and they go in, and I pretend like I did it on purpose with skill and precision. Or as Ryan says, "Some people call it skill; I call it luck."

Looking back on the past year, I think it's kind of been like my putting. Last year, I was home, ready to get out of the snow and speak English. I went back to the village with unsigned contract papers in hand. And I signed those papers, not really sure what a second year would hold. "OH NOOOOOOOO!" I'm not exactly sure where I was aiming or going towards, but I moved. I moved forward and made progress towards...somewhere, something, someone better. I've grown (a little) over the past 12 months, and while I didn't read all the breaks correctly, I still made progress. I may not have ended up where I was aiming (wherever that may have been), but I am further along as a person than I was this time last year.

So here I am again--home, out of the snow, enjoying sunshine, and speaking English. My unsigned contract papers are sitting in my work desk in my frozen little village. I have not yet decided 100% what I'm going to do, but I know regardless of my decision, I'll move forward, make progress, and (hopefully) be a better person than I am now.