As children growing up in the 1930’s and 1940’s, we were very aware that you needed to take care of all your belongings, as we had few! The parcel that arrived from Eaton’s in the fall brought us all the necessities we needed for the upcoming winter. If you lost anything, there was no store nearby where you could get a replacement, and money was too tight to mention.

Not in Our Vocabulary

Losing anything just was not in our vocabulary! At school, all the children from Grades 1 to 10 were together in one large room, and I don’t remember any thieves in our classroom. You always could find your misplaced pencils and erasers!

I do remember losing not one, but TWO pairs of red leather gloves as an adult. I love a nice pair of red leather gloves, obviously, and in each case, I looked high and low, including all over the house just in case they were somewhere to be found. They were not.

My Precious 5-Wood

Just the other day, I was on the 8th hole (Par 3) at the River Spirit Golf Course when I reached into my golf bag for my 5-wood.

It wasn’t there.

My stomach sank.

When did I last have it? Did I put it in one my friends’ bag? I then thought about that. If I’d done that, it would be in her SUV, and she’s away on holidays. That would mean I’d need to wait till she’s back from vacation to find out if she had it, and my heart sunk further.

Instead, to make the shot, I took my 3-wood out of my bag and gripped down on it and hit my ball 20′ short of the green. I really should have tossed in the towel and stopped playing after nine holes as I was totally useless on the back nine.

Where, Oh, Where Could it Be???

 

All I could think of was where was “where, oh, where has my little club gone? Oh where oh where could it be?”

My precious 5-wood.

It wasn’t until I’d finished golfing that I noticed the head cover for my 5-wood was in the basket of the golf car.

A-HA

It was my Eureka moment. If I hadn’t left it somewhere on the course, I must have left it at the driving range. And to be truthful, it’s not a club that someone else would really want to take home with them. It’s no 2015 model, that’s what I mean.

Sure enough, when I asked if it had been turned in to the Pro Shop, it had been and a member of the staff gave I to me. What a relief. What joy!

Seems like I am always looking for something that I am missing. With all the high tech equipment we have these days, I need power cords for charging, USB sticks, remote controls, etc. It is not that we have lost them but they seem to walk away from where we last used them.

I try to keep all my power cords in one place but that doesn’t always work. If I want to set the alarm on my IPad, I need to take it to my bedroom. This is more like losing track of where you used it last, not a real loss.

Now losses are quite common when you are dealing with the stock market. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I guess you may as well add in wagering from going to play Bingo on a Saturday night in a small town with my oldest sister. I couldn’t play, only watch as she would win some and lose some. Times have changed and in Canada there are Lotteries all under close scrutiny of each Provincial Gaming Commission. All winnings from these in Canada are tax free.

Boo-Hoo

When it comes to losing in a game, now, that’s different. To lose a game of Checkers when I was young would bring me to tears. I still find it a challenge to win at card games but I don’t tear up anymore.

Losing in sports is another thing. When I was six years old I entered six events in Track and Field in our School Unit. Back then, farms were small and schools were plentiful in rural Saskatchewan. Our school, Stafford, was on two acres and we had a full sized ball diamond right in the school yard. As soon as the snow melted in the spring we were playing ball and practising for the track meet. We had no other sports facilities in those days so there was a huge turnout for Track and Field. I always wanted to win — and win I did. Six firsts. Back then I never thought about losing. Over the years I competed and won. At one time, I could say I never ran a race I didn’t win but soon my kids were old enough to take me.

When I started playing golf on a regular basis I really didn’t playing competitively. I was more concerned about making friends. To this day I like to go to a golf club and join up with strangers for a round of golf. Somehow this enables me to really play the golf course with what I would call peer pressure. It is different somehow. I must admit when the scorecard is showing that my playing partners are playing better than I am that I Instinctively pick up my game and play better.

However, none of the losses compare with the gut wrenching feeling that comes when you lose something like a treasured golf club. Except for, perhaps, losing your car in a parking lot…but that’s a story for another time.