Part of the goal of sabbatical is to re-connect with family and friends and I have done a lot of that since camp. My brother and sister and their families were in town and we played golf. Even though I am not a terrible golfer, I am the worst in my family. I shot 85 at Diamondback and was feeling ok with that round. My sister, who is 65 years old, shot 76. She had 5 birdies and was even par with 3 holes to play and she fell apart. Next I went to Lubbock to visit some old friends that I grew up with. We played more golf up there. I shot 89 then 87. My friend Bill shot 75 then 77 so once again I got spanked. However, it was a lot of fun and great to get to see everyone. Golf is such a great way to spend time with family and friends.
My book study is called “7: An Experimental Mutiny against Excess” by Jen Hatmaker. It is an interesting book and I recommend it to anyone who feels their life is too busy. But, the author is quite verbal. This book is over 200 pages and I think it could have easily been under 35. The author never misses the chance to use a couple of paragraphs where a sentence would work. Anyway, she takes 7 areas of her life and tries to simplify to 7 items each. The 7 areas are: clothes, spending, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress. For each of those areas she limits herself to 7 items. For example, with food she limits herself to: chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, and apples. She went an entire month just eating those foods. She drank only water, which she did not count as one of the 7 food items.
Anyway, it is an interesting read. I am on media right now. Although I don’t think I will try anything as extreme as the author, this book has inspired me to try to simplify my life.
I just returned from a trip to Vancouver, Canada with my wife and daughter. It was a great trip and I will talk about it (including a few photos) in my next post.
-Matt