12 Hour Roadtrip

This post is one of the hardest to write.  I lost my last living grandparent, Mamaw, a week ago on Friday.  It wasn't unexpected as she was suffering with pancreatic cancer.  Our family is grateful for her 93 years on this earth, and we celebrated her last Saturday in Louisville.  

I knew the weekend was going to be exhausting for a number of reasons.  It was probably the busiest we've had in years. (1) We are in the middle of golf season.  This means after the start of school, all of our tournaments fall on the weekend.  This particular weekend placed Miles in Pineville and Paris, KY. (2)  It was move in day for both of our college students.  Isaac had asked me weeks earlier the best day for us to help him.  Thank goodness for the golf schedule because I had chosen Friday not knowing what this particular weekend would even look like.  

Without Matt, I'm not sure I could've made it emotionally.  I am thankful that God blessed me with the greatest husband on the planet.  His schedule is such a hectic one that I never like to add anything extra to his plate.  He told me that he was going to leave early on Friday and help get Isaac moved in.  What a relief?!?!  Moving college students into dorms is a very physical task. 

FRIDAY::

Miles had to leave early with his team to play a practice round in Pineville at Wasioto Winds Golf course.  This meant he needed to be at his coaches house no later than 7:30AM.  We got him packed up and sent off!

Karson spent the morning gathering all of her stuff for the move back to Louisville.  She didn't have much - mainly clothes and a handful of other things.  This semester she signed a 3-month commitment with an Airbnb.  It made sense not to sign a full-lease until she figures out if she's staying in Louisville.  She received her nursing assignment today which will most likely conclude by the end of October.  To save money, she'd like to move home after for a few months while figuring out her next steps.  

She didn't have school on Monday but sent some "back to school pics" yesterday when she had class.

Today, she received her capstone assignment which will be at Jewish in the ICU float pool.  It's day shift, and she's excited to see everything and figure out what she likes.  My hope is that she is paired with an incredible nurse, loves the ICU, is offered a position, and her choice after graduation is clear.  Let's go Cards!

Isaac's living space this year reminds me of a mini apartment.  He is staying in North Hall which is much newer than Telford where he lived last year.  It's very spacious and part of me wishes that EKU had year round campus living options for students, like UofL offers.  We're hopeful that at the conclusion of this year, he will be able to transition into an apartment and not have to move everything back home.  Plus, it will give him a chance to work and possibly find an internship nearby.  

His haul was much larger to pack up.  I made him some sausage squares for breakfast Friday morning before we got everything loaded up in his car and Matt's Highlander.  We took off a little before lunch headed for Richmond with his move in time around 3PM.  About midway through the trip, a huge storm passed through.  It was impossible to see for about an hour into the drive.  However, we made it around 3:15, secured a cart and got everything loaded in.  I did some quick cleaning of furniture, but it wasn't needed as the room was very nice.  We got his bedding together, things unpacked, and pictures hung.  Isaac isn't much on us hanging around long, and I get it.  Plus, we had a two hour drive to Pineville. We took him and his new suitemate James out to dinner at Chick Fil A.  I hope he has a great semester and year!

 

Monday was Isaac's official first day of class.  

We made it to the Sleep Inn in Pineville around 8PM.  It is about as far Southeast as you can get in Kentucky and absolutely breath-taking.  We'd like to go back and stay sometime in the near future!  The team got rain delayed during the practice round, so they headed to dinner and then the hotel.  Miles was already checked in when arrived.  All of us crashed after such a long day!

SATURDAY::

Miles and his Grayson County friend Jackson have been battling for YEARS.  Love their friendship and when we get to reconnect on the course.

 

We drug ourselves out of bed early to get Miles to the golf course.  Unfortunately, the driving range had flooded so the boys weren't able to warm up the way they would've liked.  Plus, Miles  really wanted Matt to see the range - bummer.  The views at this golf course were amazing.  One of our players said he wished he had a GoPro camera to strap on  Tournaments are precious and quickly dwindling away, but we had to miss this one.  After drop off, we made a three hour trip to Louisville for my Mamaw's visitation and funeral.  It was a long, emotional day.  We got to catch up with family, share memories, and had some good laughs.  My Aunt Bev had asked all the grandchildren to reach out to the officiant Larry Sawyer about why we're the favorite grandchild.  

This was my argument:

I can say with certainty that I am my Mamaw’s favorite - She gifted me with the most magical baby blanket – my pink strawberry shortcake which is, to this day, is my most prized possession.  It provided me with security, comfort, and an immediate connection to her.  It was soft, cozy, and so special that when our daughter Karson came along and was gifted with tons of different blankies, guess which one she chose?  MINE.  We loved it hard and were loved back by our precious Mamaw and great-Mamaw!

It was a fun way to honor her memory and celebrate how she made us all feel special!  

I received the kindest messages from loved ones via text, social media, and through the mail.  My coworkers got me a lovely bouquet along with a very generous gift card.  It made me feel very loved and supported.

After the service, we went to Okolona Church for a meal.  Once it wrapped it, we took off for Paris to meet up with the team, which placed third in the Wasioto Winds tournament.  Miles didn't have his best round and battled all day according to his coach.  He finished with a 79 which is still impressive.  Because the team had reservations at Malone's, we decided it would be easier to meet them there instead of going to the hotel since it was on the way.  

With full stomachs, we headed back to hotel stopping off at Graeters Ice Cream first for a treat.  Night two of crashing after such a long day!  Fortunately, we were able to sleep in late at the Best Western.  

SUNDAY::

A special surprise exists ONLY in Paris, Kentucky and that is the world's last Jerry's Restaurant.  I felt like I hit the jackpot when I saw it was only a few minutes from us.  Due to an afternoon tee time, we were able to eat lunch there.  I had my favorite meal which consists of coleslaw, Captain's Wafers crackers, and Italian spaghetti with garlic toast.  It was heaven!  We also couldn't leave without getting a slice of hot fudge cake.  

 

I asked our server about the restaurant and if any other Jerry's exist.  She told us - this is the last one.  It was packed too.  

The late tee time, while nice, made for a very long and tiring afternoon.  It wasn't the best round for anyone in Miles's group, nor for our team.  The course and pin placement was long and incredibly hard.  It felt like the round would never end.  Miles had a doomsday attitude from the start.  As soon as we pulled up to the course, he immediately said, "why do golf courses hate high school golfers?"  Hah, he noticed how difficult the pin placement was on the greens.  One the first tee, he completely mishit, and his coach told us that a butterfly flew straight in front of him and almost landed on his ball in the his downswing.  That was the kick off to how the day would start.  He managed to hit the ball well and actually played great. It just wasn't his day, got some unlucky breaks, and that's how golf is sometimes.

We didn't get home until 9:15PM completely wiped out.  After getting the car unpacked and a load of laundry washed and thrown in the dyer, I finally made it to bed around 10:30PM.  

Back to School Blisters and All!

 

 

The final chapter and family caboose started his Senior year at South last Wednesday.  Almost one week into classes, and I was asked by his English teacher to tell me a little bit about my son.  The short version, he will graduate early.  His after school plans are not clear at this time, but he plans to do some shadowing and work full time before deciding on a pathway.  We are proud to be his parents and know he will figure things out.  I'm not sure loading up on difficult classes along with a grueling golf season is ideal, but here we are!  

Black and silver match between our squad.  Love that coach likes to promote team bonding and fun!

 

I didn't have high expectations for this weekend's golf tournaments especially with the start of school.  Seems like it puts a damper on Miles's spirit - getting up at the crack of dawn, sitting all day, the grind of it all.  He had a lesson scheduled for Friday afternoon.  Matt told me it hadn't gone very well, and Miles had expressed being sore and tired.  His feet are also completely covered in blisters during golf season.  He has great shoes, but walking hundreds of steps, rain and sweat combined with his swing/impact pattern is a recipe for blisters.  Karson drains them, uses her athletes feet spray, and we give him Epsom salt pedicures to try and help.  It's painful.  I hate it for him.

We were in Bardstown two days this weekend.  The team kicked off at My Old Kentucky Home, and right out of the gate, our entire team completely bombed hole #1.  It was an awful start for everyone - YEP, school is back!  Miles couldn't seem to pull it together.  His swing and misses were terrible.  The short game and chipping stunk.  Once he got his drives figured out, he couldn't sink a putt to save his life.  Fortunately, by the time we made it over to the front nine, things sort of evened out for him.  He managed to shoot an 81.  Not his best, but it could've been much worse.

I had low expectations for Sunday at Maywood.  However, the start time was a little later in the day which meant we could all sleep in a little and catch up on rest.

The day was his!  He had an incredible round and scored an even par.  At one point, he was -2 under which takes the pressure off entirely.

Boring golf is fun golf, especially as a spectator.  There are days he makes it look easy.  

It's hard to believe we are at the midway point of our season.  This weekend the team will travel to Pineville and Paris, Kentucky.

We had pictures yesterday at the Club at Olde Stone, and the girls team joined us.

LOVE THIS GROUP OF SPARTANS!

Rain Delays and One Final Hurrah!

Well July flew by and here we are - the first week of school in August.  Golf is literally in full swing after KHSAA dead period.  We host our Spartan Clash early in the season and load up with other tournaments up until school starts.  All my vacation days are banked for these purposes because school tournaments happen during the work week.  I wouldn't trade any of my time on the golf course this year.  I have been watching our Spartan golfer compete in every single varsity tournament since 8th grade.  His dedication and commitment to the sport and being the very best he can be makes me a very proud mom!  This year is bittersweet for sure!

 

We had our boys Senior pictures taken by Red Elephant Studios prior to the season because we wanted to showcase them at our tournament at Park Mammoth along with on our event calendar for the season.  We plan to have our team pictures taken at Olde Stone next Monday.

 

To say it's been HOT is an understatement.  The heat is ridiculous this year so much so that most, if not all, of our tournaments have had pop up showers and rain delays.  While I don't always rent a cart, I know the courses that I cannot walk easily on.  I do my best to capitalize my exercising during golf season since my job is fairly sedentary.  It's grueling and makes my body ache, but I tell myself - your son is doing it, carrying clubs, and playing a physically/mentally challenging game while doing so.  I can't complain too much!  I take my fold up chair and carry my cooler full intending to sweat my tail off.  We had five (5) tournaments in a row last week kicking it off at Hopkinsville.  The boys were able to secure a practice round the day before and Miles had played the course once before in this summer's Go Golf Junior series.

Hopkinsville - MONDAY

He had a decent round in Hopkinsville despite a 30-minute rain delay.  We got home fairly late.  I did a load of laundry, and we got packed up for our three-day trek to Shepherdsville and Florence, KY.  Heritage Hill in Shepherdsville is a MUST for securing a golf cart.  The line is like black Friday shopping.  You get there early and pray that you get one.  Matt and Miles took off at 3:45AM and were already 9th in line at the Pro Shop.  Thankfully a cart was secured.

Heritage Hill -TUESDAY

 

Karson and I left after about nine (9) holes to go and visit my Mamaw in Nicholasville. Her health has been rapidly declining the last couple of weeks.  I knew we'd be relatively close to the area during this trip.  It was a treat seeing her,not sure she shared the joy as we were probably sweaty and smelled ripe from cooking on the golf course.

We met back up with the team in Erlanger at Candlewood Suites before heading to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Matt was able to join us for two of Mile's tournaments this year which we were thankful for.  He generally cannot get away this time of the year.

 

AJ Jolly - WEDNESDAY

 

Matt and Miles took off for AJ Jolly early Wednesday morning, but Karson and I hung back getting some more rest.  Thankfully a rain delay gave us about another hour.  Miles shot his best round ever - a career low -1 under.  After the round, Matt and Karson headed back to Bowling Green.  Miles and I headed back to the hotel.  We ate at Drakes that evening, and the boys went to a movie while the parents went for ice cream.

Hickory Sticks - THURSDAY

The last leg of overnight trip happened in California, Kentucky at Hickory Sticks.  Our team came out for battle.  We may have been three holes in before ANOTHER rain delay came.  To the clubhouse we went.  Four days, four delays.  We'd never played to course before, but the day was ours.  The Spartans managed to secure the 2nd place team trophy and scored well as a group.

 

 

It was nice to come home with some hardware after all their hard work.  We're hopeful for more of these low scoring events!  

I felt like garbage after our long week.  It took Miles and I almost four hours to get home and the final hour of driving in a complete rain tsunami.  Three loads of laundry, about six Tylenol, blisters everywhere, covered in bug bites, we made it!  I had to tag in some grandparents for Friday's tournament in Owensboro because it was back to work for me.  We kicked off the Skyctc school year with convocation.  

Ben Hawes - FRIDAY

He had a few fans on Friday.  And, of course, there was rain.  It wasn't his best round, but rain + blisters + super long week of golf doesn't always equal a great finish.  We'll take a 77 though.  I took another vacation day on Monday for the Gator Invitational, our final weekday tournament before the start of school.  Bowling Green Country Club is our team's nemesis for some reason.  Miles and I kicked off our day around 5:00AM and left for the course around 5:40.  It was long, hot, and brutal.  He smoked his driver all day long, but for some reason he couldn't land a green - his range finder, pin placement, misreads made for a tough front nine.  He finished the day with an 81.  It definitely wasn't our best showing, but with some rest and practice, we'll be back!

We're heading to Bardstown this weekend playing at My Old Kentucky Home and Maywood Country Club.  Both beautiful courses.  It also looks like a nice, cooler weekend!

Have I mentioned Karson has picked up golf?  We've been looking for some clubs and her friend Faith scored her a free set of Golden Bear's.  She's tickled to death! Look out, we've now got four golfers in the family, and our garage is filling up with clubs.

CHEERS TO THE START OF SCHOOL WEDNESDAY!!!