Who's Your Caddy?

This year marks the 20th anniversary of our family golf tournament. We have a trophy clock that is engraved with the winner's name and the winner of the tournament gets to keep it for the year. I am the reigning 2008 champion, which means I am the only one in the family who knows what time it is, and it is my duty to drive to Cape Cod and defend it against my brother and father, who both live there.

I decided to take Daniel with me so I could spend some one-on-one time with him and to let Kerrie spend the weekend with Molloy and Lev.

Kerrie dropped Daniel off at my office and we left for the 4 hour drive at 4:00 pm, hampered by Friday rush hour traffic and a bit of rain. Daniel was famished and complained continuously that he wanted dinner and I told him I would pull off the highway at 5:00 and find a restaurant. Armed with his new digital watch, he proceeded to notify me every minute how many minutes were remaining.

"9 minutes left, Dad."
"8 minutes left, Dad."
"7 minutes left, Dad."

In the spaces between his digital countdown, we listened to a Meatloaf album he liked and requested. While listening to the lyrics he was constantly asking, "What is this song about?"

What an easy time I had explaining song titles like:

–I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)
–Life is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back
–Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are
–Wasted Youth

And the ever-awkwardly-explainable-to-a-7-year-old: Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)

Finally at 5:00 his watch beeped and I was stuck in the hinterlands of Connecticut with nary an exit, and the exits I did pass seemed like off-ramps to farmland where he would have to either harvest or slaughter his own meal. We ended up in the seaside town of Niantic and meandered our way to The Black Sheep; a cozy Irish pub with a unique menu. Daniel gobbled up an appetizer, a man-sized hamburger with fries and carrots, and for dessert: a delicious gingerbread cupcake. Our table neighbors complimented me on his behavior and manners, but he was just so focused on eating that there was no reason for him to misbehave. Besides, there were no siblings to misbehave with.

The next morning we had a tee-time at 9:00 am and Daniel was my caddy pulling my pull-cart down the fairways. OK, my balls weren't landing in the fairway, but it was so easy and so much fun for him that by the end of the first hole he had handed it back to me. By the sixth hole he was tired of walking and began looking for alligators, and by the seventh hole he was ready to go home. My dad had rented a motor cart he shared with David, so we put him in that and he had enough fun for the balance of the day riding around. I should have put him there to begin with.

It is typically a two-day tournament and after the first day I was down 5 strokes from David, and my Dad...well let's just say he forgot that low score wins. But the rain closed the course the next day and I was forced to give up the clock on account of rain.

On Sunday afternoon, with the golf canceled from the morning, I was lucky enough to get Patriots tickets from a work vendor to the Tennessee Titans game in Foxboro. It was a nasty, bitter, snowy cold and I decided to take my nephew, Michael instead of Daniel. I knew Michael would appreciate it more as he is 15 years old and a huge Patriots fan (Daniel would want to go home within 15 minutes), so David took Daniel to the movie, "Cloudy, with a Chance of Meatballs" ("Dad, what does that mean?").

While Michael and I shivered in a snow-filled stagnant line to get into the stadium (they check your bags and person for contraband), I assured him he would be warm and dry once we got inside, as I had a secret surprise for him. Just as we were about 4 people from the entrance, someone pointed out to us that we were in the "Female" line. I considered trying to pass myself off as a female in the bundled coat, but did not want to set a bad example for my nephew, who at that moment was already practicing a female voice.

So we went back to the end of the line, waited another 25 minutes, entered the gate to have our tickets scanned, only to learn that we were at the wrong entrance; we had to go to the side entrance with the elevators (is it too much to print that information on the ticket?)...Oh-oh, was my surprise exposed too early?

We walked to the elevator entrance where there was no line, just the smell of free popcorn and hot coffee, where a tended elevator took us up to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield luxury suite. Michael was shocked to see the beautiful, giant living room with large windows out onto the field, a well stocked refrigerator, and a buffet table of salads, fajitas, steak sandwiches (and I mean you pick up a steak and put it between two pieces of bread), and pasta, followed by desserts.

Both teams were full of awe; The Titans being awful and the Patriots being awesome. The Patriots scored more than 40 points in the first half alone on the snow-covered field. Tom Brady threw 5 touchdown passes just in the second quarter!, while the Titan's quarterback had only 2 completions in the game. It was a great way to see a fun game.

After the game, we met David, bartered to get our own children back (I gave him a pending college education to pay for and he gave me a tired, sleepy, ornery, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......................... I literally just picked up the car seat with Daniel in it and transferred it into my car. Daniel barely woke up.

A long, peaceful ride home completed a nice weekend with family. But now I don't know what time it is anymore.