SMH, Golfsmith.

So today I took a club to Golfsmith to get it regripped, toddler in tow. He loves that store, lots of things to grab and space to walk around. The sound it makes when I hit a ball in their demo area is hysterical to him.

I headed straight to the back of the store and was waiting (and waiting, and waiting) to be helped, so much that I had already picked out the grip I would need (basic black, undersized, no wraps). Finally an employee who was escorting a different customer to the tech area found me. He left them and I alone to go get another guy since he didn't "do grips."

After I had finally gotten the help I needed, I spent some time wandering the store with the kiddo so he could run out some energy (and I could peruse the merchandise!).

Kiddo was getting in the way of a third customer rolling some putts on the green. I tried to wrangle him when the employee exhales, "OH, you're with him!" I look over and he's pointing to the customer putting. It's as if now my presence made sense, the conundrum finally solved to his relief.

No, we're not, I tell him. "Oh," he says.

I get that I must look a little funny shopping at a golf store with a toddler, but surely this man has seen women even without children shop in his store, right?

I see some Hank Haney chipping nets on sale and decide to grab one to give a try, since right now I use the kiddo's wagon and some other toys for targets (#momlifegolf). Still in the area, the employee comments that I've found a great item. "Will it be used indoors or outdoors?" he asks, eager to talk about it.

Mostly indoors, I say, my hands full as I try to keep the kiddo from knocking over an entire row of putters.

"Well it's great for that," continues the employee, "does he have any of the plastic yellow balls for indoor chipping? He would need those, they're really great for him to practice short game!"

Wait, he? Who is he? Obviously not the baby, right? And we've clarified that that other man is not part of my party...

Ohhhhhh, this guy wants to know if the man he assumes I'm shopping for needs anything else.

No, I have some already, I say, emphasis on the I, and head to checkout.

There was nothing more I felt like needing to be said. He wasn't rude, per se, just ignorant. It wasn't insulting, just disappointing, and actually I was a teeny bit embarrassed for him. I was wearing a golf hat, for Pete's sake. I had picked out an undersized grip for a women's hybrid iron, which he saw me carry in. The clues weren't super obvious I guess, but definitely there.

SMH. Let me say that I don't feel like I've suffered a ginormous transgression or have been discriminated against. This is obviously a #firstworldproblem, just annoying.

But on the plus side, it kept me from spending much more money, because I was about to drop some dough on full-price new polo styles, and maybe a cute gingham print visor. Dodged one there!

So what do you do with the baby while you golf?

I push him in his stroller while I carry my bag. It torches calories. In no time I'll lose those last pesky pounds of baby weight and I can go shopping for new skinny jeans and bikinis for summer! I dress him like one of the caddies at Augusta and it's SO cute. He really enjoys the scenery and it's so much fun to spend time together.

Just kidding. Sort of. I have definitely thought about doing that. When he was younger, like around 6-8 months, he would easily nap in his jogging stroller and was never very vocal. So had my back been healthier (pregnancy does a number to you!) and had I had not spent my time moving cross-country, he would have been the perfect playing partner.

But now, at 16 months, he's movin', shakin', and vocally, vehemently,  against sitting for longer than an episode of Sesame Street (the HBO kind which is shorter than PBS). So while I can't wait to get him out on the course and show him all that entails, that's going to have to wait.  (And I'm still very serious about the caddy outfit).

I write this fairly boring post to hopefully illustrate how tough it is to secure quality child care for anything, let alone something as non-serious as golf. Although there are some fancy schmancy clubs with daycare rooms, we can't manage those kinds of luxuries -- so hourly care it is. A full round of golf can take up to 5 hours at some courses (or more, 9 holes a few months back at a local public course took four hours alone!). Depending on where you live, childcare can easily be $15 bucks an hour or more, and that's for just one kiddo. Tack that on to ever rising greens fees and it can easily wipe out a family's budget. But I'm not willing to wait until he (and whatever future nuggets I may have) are school-aged to get in some rounds.

I looked at the websites like Care and Sittercity. On top of what I would have to pay the sitter, there is a monthly fee, and I wasn't entirely confident in the reviews concerning their background checks.

But over the past several months of living in our new city, we've gotten to know our neighbors very well. I'm very good friends with one who also stays home with her daughter who is just a bit older than mine. She's an artist who has a home studio, and we talk often about our interests and work as a core component of our identity and how we so much miss being able to do those things full time and yadda yadda yadda a little bit of self pity and whining about stay at home mom life with a confidant. She's also GREAT with my kid, and knows how hard I've looked for a babysitter being new to this city. So, she did me a huge one and offered to help me by watching him while I golf!

We've worked out a trade of sorts. I am paying her for each hour, but we deduct any hours that she might need. So last week, she watched mine, and this week I watched hers. Win-win.

And the bonus is that a morning with a playmate gives my little guy an EPIC afternoon nap. For which I can get in more practice...

Thankful to have made some friends and earned a bit of luck in this department!