March 29, 2024

Summer wish list

When Wednesday comes around, my daughter will have finished her first full year of school. Where did the time go?

As the end of the school year approaches, it’s time to figure out what we will do this summer.

My wish list is always too long, and I never get to everything. But I will try to type a few things up anyway.

I really want to take up golf. My brother and I love to golf together. He’s the only real golf partner I have, but he lives in Adel, which isn’t too close to just drop what we are doing to get some swings in.

We can both golf for free in several places around the state, including at Westwood Golf Course, because he’s part of the Wounded Warriors program as a military veteran. We can golf in Norwalk and a few other places, too.

We say every summer we want to golf more than we do. Here’s to actually doing that this summer.

I hit up the Westwood driving range this weekend. I also cleaned out my bag and organized it to get ready to go. Now we just need to find the time to golf.

My family and I want to attend an Iowa Barnstormers game this season. They only have one more regular season home game left but a home playoff game also is in order. I think we’ll have to hit that one up on the 29th.

I used to fish all the time with my Dad. But time has gotten away from me at times, and I stopped doing that. This summer, fishing with my father and brothers a few times needs to be a priority.

I keep telling Aubrey we need to find time for my Dad’s boat. He may not want us to be in the boat when he is fishing but hopefully we can find some time for that, too.

Our family was gifted a tent for Christmas, and I promised Aubrey we would go camping this summer. I will make time for that because it’s a promise I plan on keeping. Not sure how many times we’ll get out, but it will be more than once.

There are only so many weekends in summer so doing this stuff isn’t easy.

Another wish list is an I-Cubs game. There are plenty of opportunities for that.

We have a landscaping project we have needed to tackle but haven’t been able to get to it because of the surgery my wife is recovering from. That is not a wish list. It’s just something we need to make sure we find time for.

I need to make time for family and friends. Sometimes, this job forces me to have tunnel vision. There’s a lot of work that goes into this job, but I need to start making sure we visit my parents and brothers more often. Or invite them over to the house sometime.

We also have several friends in town and out of town I neglect way too much. It’s hard to find time where everyone is free, but I can certainly try a little harder.

We are taking a vacation in late July. If anyone has ever been to the Pagosa Springs area in Colorado, let me know if you know any good spots to go for food or fun. The worst part about that trip is going to be the 15-hour drive to the resort we are staying at. The drive home won’t be any fun either.

On the basketball court, Iowa’s own Nick Nurse is trying to slay a giant and win an NBA title for the Toronto Raptors.

Iowans love to claim anything we can as our own. Nurse is from Carroll and spent coaching stints at Grand View College, Iowa State and the Iowa Energy of the D-League, among others.

Nurse has worked his way up to the coaching ranks and deserves his success.

I am rooting for him even though I know Golden State is probably going to win. Maybe we can get a six- or seven-game series.

Contact Troy Hyde at thyde@newtondailynews.com