Stamp Out FPS (Failure to Play Syndrome)

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Added: Tue. Oct 25, 2011 1:19pm
Posted in: Women

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 Two years ago I took up golf.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would take up golf.  Hitting a tiny ball into a little hole outside in the hot Florida sun did not sound remotely appealing.  Besides, I already had a hobby that could produce as much frustration as any golf match- pottery!.  Centering eight or even five pounds of clay on a potter’s wheel could exasperate a cat.  In my early potter years I had a wheel in my garage.  I would get so frustrated trying to center the clay I would throw handfuls of it into my backyard.  (Well it was mud after all.  I was just forcibly returning it to the earth).  As I grew in pottery proficiency it became almost a badge of honor for me to say, I’m a potter I don’t need another hobby to frustrate me”.  .   

But once I became art director of the Jeremiah Project, pottery became a little too much like work.  I wanted to engage in an activity that felt like play.  Golf certainly fits that bill.  There is no way I could ever consider a professional career in golf, not with my score (when I keep score which is hardly ever).  I refuse to play with anyone who takes the game or themselves too seriously.  I love playing with women, because they will laugh if they shank, (whatever that means), hook, or slice a shot…If my ball happens to travel farther `than 130 yards, I don’t care which direction is goes I’m so busy squealing with delight.      

Guys, if they are reasonably coordinated, seem to have sports for life.  They’ll play pick up basketball or football games, tennis, golf, etc.  Historically, Lady Boomers have suffered from Failure to Play Syndrome (FPS).  As we enter these Empty Nest years, playing is a strategy we can employ to combat ENS (I love making up acronyms and syndromes).  Shopping has been a Lady Boomer pastime.  There are women who love the hunt.  But trying on bathing suits under fluorescent lights (a concept immortalized by Murphy Brown) is not my idea of play.  One of the questions posed in my Lady Boomers survey was “In the past few years, have you taken up any new sport or hobby that 10 years ago you would not have considered, such as golf, skiing, bowling, etc?”.  Only 29% say yes.  So, ladies, try taking up a new something to play.  I have to say, I’ve been bitten by the golf bug.  I really like whacking that ball from the tee box.  You might too.