This extended season we’re in can yield some unexpected outcomes. For me, the abundance of extra time has fueled interest in new hobbies, some I’m good at and others, well – let’s just say sometimes I take what I think is a good swing and then look down and the ball IS. STILL. THERE.

Dammit.

I’m only three lessons into this long loved hobby of my husband’s, and for all the years he’d come home and chat me up about his golf game while I politely offered the occasional “Mm hmm” and “Oh that’s great” without so much as a clue of the difference between a birdie and a bogey, dare I say it, now I’m really interested.

After a daily check-in with the Lord to make sure I’ve got my head on straight for whatever crazy the day shall bring, hobbies are my sanity saver.

When they involve a little calorie burn (sometimes negated by the occasional cocktail because #duh) and fellowship with people whose company I really enjoy, all the better.

As I’ve often written about, I tend to skew introvert on the whole sociability scale. Gardening and reading (two other favorite hobbies) suit me well in that regard.

They are solitary endeavors, and the former gives me time to dig in the earth and work out the things that I need to turn over in my mind and really think through. Plus, there’s the added, unique satisfaction of being able to yank out a tangle of intrusive weeds by the root – booyah! And the thrilling reward of nurturing a tender young plant into a well-established shrub, resplendent with fragrant rose blooms.

Golf on the other hand – golf is a new hobby, and one that pushes me outside my introvert comfort zone. I’m making new friends, learning the etiquette of a game that once intimidated me greatly, and can comfortably hold my own when approaching a hole and determining which club will give me my best shot (pun very much intended).

And after one week wearing gym clothes, the next week wearing kind of a Mee-Maw looking skort and tank because it was the least matronly thing Academy had, and then finally showing up in something I really loved, I can say with full confidence that the Deion Sanders quote is true:

“If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good.”

Lawdy mercy, even in a scramble, no one would walk away with a pay day if I’m on the team, but the rest of the quote is true enough.

To your hobbying bliss!

Love,

Rebecca