He Got a Score

After my previous post, I hope my readers don't think that I have an unrealistic view of my own children.  So lest anyone think that I have a conflated opinion of my own children and their behavior, I thought I would share this morning's discovery.  I was reminded that we are not the perfect neighbors either...

It all started a few mornings ago when my boys were playing in the backyard.  I had tried to sleep in late that morning because I had worked most of the night before in order to meet a deadline.  But somehow, my conscious awareness reminded me that the little boys needed some supervision.  So, I sat in bed with my blinds pulled up so that I could see what they were up to in the backyard.  I must say, I was unprepared for what I found.

Both boys (who were still wearing their PJ's) were working on their golf game in the backyard.  My right-handed swinging 2 year old was attempting to hit golf balls around the backyard with MY golf club (which happens to be right-handed).  Meanwhile, the 4 year old was swinging his own left-handed club and was driving balls off of the back porch.  And just to give you a frame of reference, we have a covered back porch that overlooks a wide backyard that slopes towards the backyards of 3 homes behind us.  Of course, the yard that my son was aiming at has a pool on the other side of the fence.  My little guy was essentially chipping balls off the back porch and trying to get them over the fence towards that neighbor's pool!  (It's my fault because he and I were watching some guys in NY on TV hitting balls at a driving range off of a platform into a harbor the other day and he thought this was very cool).

I was horrified when I saw what the boys were up to.  Although most 4 year olds can barely make contact with a golf ball, my 4 year old is surprisingly good at not only making contact, but also driving the ball pretty far.  (He certainly didn't get his golf skills from me).  I could tell based on how hard he was hitting the ball that not only was my son eventually going to hit the ball over the fence, but he might also be able to break a window on the house behind us.  Of course, this is not okay. 

After that ordeal, both Dear Husband and I had discussions with the boys and explained that golf is not to be played in our backyard.  It is a fun game to be played on a golf course or a driving range.  I honestly thought that was the end of the issue.

But this morning, I heard my oldest son yelling "I got a score! I got a score!"  He came running in the house from the backyard excitedly yelling about his score.  When he came to tell me about the "score." I also noticed that he was holding a golf club.  So naturally, I asked him if he hit a ball over the fence.  He looked at me funny and said, "Well, yes!  That's how you score!"  Uggghhh...

So we're turning into annoying neighbors too.  It's almost 4pm and I still haven't found the golf ball.  But the good news is that I haven't seen any broken windows in our neighbors' houses either.  I guess it's time to reinforce our family's own boundaries.  And maybe it's time to sign up our son for his own private golf lessons.