This was a very revealing week for me. The plan was to spend three (3) days on Cape Cod, golfing during the day and playing cards (poker) at night — a real GUY’s week!
Monday was great! We played golf at Cranberry Valley (an excellent course), grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, and then settled down to play cards. I was feeling quite tired after golf but figured I would bounce back as usual. I went to bed at 10 PM, long before our normal bedtime during these jaunts — I was exhausted!
On Tuesday we played Quashnet Valley (another interesting course) after breakfast at Grumpy’s. On the tee at the 11th hole, I turned to my partner and said, “I am very, very tired. I hope I can keep it together and finish the back nine.” Somehow I managed to continue to hit the ball for eight more holes (not too badly I might add). I could barely walk at the end of the round. Once again, we played cards till 10 PM and I went to bed early again.
This morning, when I woke up, I knew that I could not do another day of this. I informed the group that I would be leaving for home after breakfast and apologized for not being able to play golf another day. I hope they understood.
I have not been this tired in many years. I guess I am learning that I am not the same man I was before, that my body and my cancer have placed limitations on me that I must respect. This was a valuable educational experience, one that I have been resisting for a while.