Friday Flashback: “I Want to be a Pro Golfer”

By Rosanna Ward

This week I’m participating with a homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool Chick. My six-year-old son Joel has been cracking me up this week. I am really enjoying spending some one-on-one time with him.

In our homeschool this week… I took Joel to the Homeschool Skate Day here in town and left my toddler Leif at home with my 16-year-old Virginia. He had such a great time, and afterward we went to Cherry Berry and had some really great conversation.

He saw a hot air balloon (attached to a store) and said, “Someday I want to ride in a hot air balloon!” So I told him that when the girls were younger, I had them start a list of all the things they wanted to do in their lifetime. One of my 18-year-old daughter Hannah’s list items was to skydive, which she did this year on her 18th birthday. Virginia wanted to visit Nashville, which we did this summer. So I said, “You should start one, and you can write down, “ride in a hot air balloon” at the top of your list.”

To which he replied excitedly, “Yeah, and be a PRO GOLFER!”

This led to a conversation later about golf and where he tees off at when he golfs. I asked him if he teed off from the ladies tees. He said, “Ladies tees? I  tee off from the red tees. The blue tees are for pros, the white tees are for regular guys, the yellow tees are for senior citizens and the red tees are for kids – they’re closer. There aren’t any ladies tees.”

I said, “I think there is, ladies play golf and I am pretty sure they have their own tee area.”

“No,” he says, “I don’t see any ladies out there when I go.” Alrighty then.

Then he was telling me the difference between the Sapulpa Municipal Golf Course and Clary Fields, and how he had to be stronger to golf at Clary because there were more roughs and he lost a lot of balls. I was thinking to myself, “He’s six! What six-year-old knows this much about golf?”

You should hear him when he’s watching golf on TV with his dad. They are hilarious!

Which brings me back to the fact that I’m grateful for… the opportunity to homeschool him. Because we homeschool, he isn’t stuck inside the four walls of a school all day, five days a week. He gets to do what he really loves — like playing golf with his dad about twice a week. Other golfers have seen him play on the golf course and commented on his focus and beautiful swing.

So it is a very real possibility that someday, you just might see Joel Ward on the PGA tour. Keep an eye out for him in the next 10 to 15 years!

— Rosanna Ward is a devoted wife of 19 years and mother of four children, two of which are currently homeschooled. Her oldest daughter is a homeschool graduate, and her youngest son is a toddler. Rosanna is a homeschool graduate and has been homeschooling for six years. Rosanna loves to study History and Genealogy, and currently resides in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.