My "kid" Brandon Beck used to say, "Oh Foot!" When he got frustrated. I might start saying, "Oh Farkle."
I have a confession. I use the "start new game" button frequently when I'm playing that stupid game. I mean, if you start out with one "1" you know you are going to Farkle, and you won't get even close to your top score...so what's the point?
In golf, that extra try is called a "Mulligan"
A do-over.
It's a bummer that life doesn't come with a "start new game" switch.
There are a lot of things I would change---mistakes I would correct. My granddaughter wouldn't get Leukemia and my son would still be alive. grinning at us and being a real pain in the butt. But there is no Mulligan button for life.
I was remindeed of that again Sunday. We were having a good time---a family softball game. Afterward, Charlie was going to fry burgers on the Lions Stand grill ( those are the best burgers in the world) and the kids were laughing and yelling. It was great.
Until little Chad took a line drive to the face. It hit him hard. Though I didn't see the actual hit, from Charlie's description I know it was horrible. The sound was sickening. Chad went down like lead.
Blood was everywhere. Charlie took it hard...for him, it was as if our Chad (the little guy's namesake) was lying there helpless and blood-soaked.Sarah scooped the 6 year old up and the two of us raced to the pickup with him. I didn't stop at any intersections but blew the horn continuously as we rushed the little guy to the emergency room.
He passed out and Sarah and I prayed.
Chad was okay. A Catscan showed that there was no brain bleeding and he didn't break any bones. He was a little sleepy, a little sore and a lot bruised up. But okay.
The rest of us aren't so lucky. Why did we let him stand there beside his grandpa? What were we thinking? Charlie and Sarah have had flashbacks to the hit.
I wish we could take it back. I wish we could hit the "Mulligan" button. But we can't. Life turns on a dime. Doctors give us the worst news possible, police officers show up at our doors at two am, and little kids sometimes get in the way of hard-hit balls.
The best we can do is make sure we try to "get it right" when we can, and let our families and friends know that the one thing we wouldn't change is loving them.
