March madness has given way to absurd April! I’ve been juggling a lot of work deadlines during the first couple weeks of the month, but a bit of a breather could maybe – hopefully – be in sight, at least for the upcoming holiday weekend.

It hasn’t been all work, no play, though! The first weekend in April brought with it our fourth annual mother-daughter golf tournament, and I’m happy to report that we took second place in our flight this year. The style was a bit different this time around: we played in nine-hole matches against five other teams over a period of three days. Winning a hole earned two points, while a tie earned one point. At the end of the match, the team who had won the most holes received an extra two bonus points – or, if you tied in total holes won, you each received one bonus point.

On the first day out at Apache, Mama B. and I ended up tying our first match. She can easily take full responsibility for keeping us in that one because I was not playing my best (to say the least), and she ended up with a 36! We both birdied the last hole, though, which boosted my confidence for the second match. It ended up being another nail biter, but we managed to win by one on the very last hole. We finished the day in second place with 22 points, four points behind the top spot.

We were scheduled to play the leaders in our morning match at Renegade on the second day. It quickly became evident that they were going to be a tough one to beat, and we ultimately lost on the last hole. Our afternoon match was equally challenging, but with a few key putts things began to swing (pun not intended, but gladly accepted) in our favor. We ultimately won the match by four holes, giving us the points total we needed to keep our second place spot.

The leaders won their afternoon match, as well, giving them a sizable advantage of 52 points to our 45. Third place was also not far behind with 43 points. But really, it was anyone’s game. A lot of things needed to happen for us to have a chance at winning, so at that point we decided to enjoy the ride, get a good night’s sleep and play as well as we could the next day at Cochise.

With nine holes left to play, we tried to have as much fun as possible amidst the nerves! Ultimately, our final competitors bested us on the second to last hole. But fortunately, I birdied the final par-3 to narrow the points differential just enough to keep us in the second place spot. Phew!

It was a competitive three days, to be sure, but more importantly Mama B. and I had the chance to spend another weekend together playing the sport we love, with some amazing shots and highlights from each match. As usual, we “ham-and-egged” it – just goes to show that we make a good team.

There were some great meals to be had throughout the event, as well! My favorite hands down was a lunch of tomato basil soup with a side of grilled cheese – why don’t I make that at home more often? I also piled my plate with some spinach and veggies, topping everything with feta cheese and white French dressing. So good.

The self-serve dessert platter was also a highlight. Mama Bender and I grabbed one of everything to share. Cannoli, raspberry chocolate goodies and key lime cheesecake? Don’t mind if we do.

Big thanks to Mama B. for choosing me as her partner for another year. Let’s keep the streak going!

What are you up to this week?

Abrazos,