Everett goes Golfing

I've never really been one to meditate.  I've tried in the past, and within ten seconds, my mind is all over the place.  At a legal seminar a while back, the speaker was raving about meditation and an  app he uses to start every day.  I decided to give it another try.  The app did help and I stuck with it for a very short while.  The one good thing that came out of it was a very simple and common breathing technique.  Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, and exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. One night while having trouble falling asleep, I did the breathing thing.  As soon as I did the inhale and held it, Everett popped up.  "Hey papà."  It was such a strong, vivid presence.  He had his familiar grin, and it was a very happy feeling.  I'm not saying he was actually there, or that I was having visions.  I think after 3 years of sadness and grief at the loss of Everett, I was now at a better place where I could focus more on the joy of having him in my life.  Everett and I chatted briefly, and then I drifted off to sleep.  There is a bit more to this story as to how I got to this point with Everett.  But, I'll save that for another post.

The next time this occurred, I was on my way to my weekly Tuesday golf.  On the drive, I did the breathing thing to relax my mind before golf.  Again, there was Everett.  I welcomed him this time, and said, "Hey Everett, do you want to join me on the golf course."  He was all for it.  I told him, I was putting him in charge of fixing my hopeless golf game.  I actually told him to just join me and have a good time keeping me company.  Everett did stick with me throughout my 18 holes, and it was one of the more enjoyable  rounds I've played in many months.  Instead of getting caught up in scores and who's winning, I  was playing with Everett.  I'd ask him before a shot as to where he thought I should hit it.  At times he was out in the middle of the fairway, waving to me and giving me a target.  Other times, he was sitting on the green straddling the hole as I was hitting my approach shot.  I had some beautiful golf shots as Everett cheered me on.  Not to say my game was fixed.  Even Everett from beyond is not capable of miracles.  But it kept me actually laughing during my round.  Everett is still his funny self at times, and now free of the constraints of his muscle limitations, he can have a lot of fun.  On one hole as I was preparing to tee off, and I was checking in with Everett, a plane was flying by.  As I looked up, there was Everett riding the plane like a horse across the sky, waving back to me.  "Everett, get back down here and focus on my game.  Quit goofing around."  He complied, although I did enjoy his stunt.  He needs to have some fun on his own, instead of only watching my boring golf game.  He also likes to drive the cart  

I don't do this every golf game.  But I do routinely check in with him.  Maybe more like checking in with me, and finding some enjoyment through him.  And, again, Everett is still Everett.  On the way to a very early morning tee time, (not my favorite), I checked in with Everett, and got no response. He was sleeping.  He did join me that day, but he wasn't a lot of help as he was pretty groggy, and not happy to be out of bed at that hour.  He never was one who enjoyed getting up and going early.  

I've mentioned this to Sarah about taking Everett golfing.  I told her I hoped this didn't upset her.  She said I'm an old man, and I'm allowed to be crazy.  So, I guess that's permission to continue on.  That makes me very happy, as Everett in his life, and now continuing, brings a bit of joy into my life.


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