Dear putt-putt…I remember you from my childhood fondly. There’s nothing like chasing a tiny ball around with a metal stick. I’m sure I’m not the only one who took the little half swings while the ball was still on its way to its final destination…just a little encouragement to keep it on the right path! So you can imagine that I’m looking forward to this Thursday’s Monster Mini-Golf fundraiser, put on by my favorite credit union, Afena. Add in tenderloins and trick-or-treating and you’ve got yourself an awesome evening with the kids! You can learn a lot on the putt-putt course too. So I present to you, Claire’s Top Three Life Lessons I Learned on the Putt-Putt Course…

 

Lesson One: Don’t cheat! So I tried employing the half swing technique I enjoyed so much as a kid while I was out putting around with my little ones, and they accused me of cheating! And they didn’t buy it when I suggested I was simply herding the ball in the right direction. Since I don’t want to teach my children to cheat in life, I eventually had to admit the error of my ways and take a more traditional approach to putting.  In life, you have goals and aspirations, and you give them your best shot…a lot of times, you’re going to have to give them a second, third or even a twentieth shot, and when you finally land that promotion or retire successfully, it feels great.

Lesson Two: Sometimes the rules are…iffy. So you’re at that hole where you have to hit the ball up two hills and in between two bowling pins, and you don’t hit it hard enough and the ball comes rolling back at you…again. Does that count as a putt? And do you have to hit it where it stops, or can you reset? And what sort of evil genius designed this hole anyways? Well, in life, you’ll find yourself in a lot of iffy situations. The solution isn’t clear and there’s not always a right or wrong answer. But you won’t get anywhere blaming somebody else for your situation (who designed that hole?), so you have to make the best decision you can and go for it.

Lesson Three: Have fun and enjoy each other! At the end of a game, you might find me tallying up the score, but usually, it’s for a laugh…and to see who gets to be the target for the water balloon sling shot. But I don’t remember those scores the next day. I do remember laughing with my family, reminiscing with my husband, and watching my girls have fun together.

I can’t wait for Thursday. My hubby, my girls, and my little man will all be there with me, and we’ll be having fun while raising money for such a great cause.  Hopefully we’ll see you there! I’m Claire, the Afena blog mom. Thanks for reading.