Jacqueline Gagne, who took up golf only 4½ years ago, has smashed all the known records for golf in an incredible run that began on January 23, 2007 when she hit her first hole-in-one of the year at her club in California. Since that time, she has hit 14 holes-in-one. To put this in perspective, the odds of achieving 14 holes-in-one in four months are almost impossible to calculate. When Ms Gagne hit her tenth, Michael McJilton, a statistician near Palm Springs, took a stab and came up with 12 septillion (that’s 12 followed by 24 zeroes) to one. By comparison, to date, Tiger Woods has hit only 18. Jack Nicklaus hit 20 in his career. A US amateur, Norman Manley, claims a career total – and world record – of 59.
When Ms Gagne was asked what her secret is she replied "I aim for the hole." Apparently, this is something that most people -- even professionals -- don't do. Instead, most professionals attempt to set themselves up for the perfect birdie.
As I read the article, I couldn't help but think about the analogy to my own situation. When I first started understanding cancer and cancer-related terminology, one of the first phrases I learned was "5 year survival rate." Apparently, this is the way that most of the oncology world measures how effectively a patient has responded to treatment...Did they survive at least 5 years post-treatment? And early on, I definitely found myself falling into this "logic" as well. I would think "God, please let me live another 5 years. Luke will be 11 then and Kyle will be 7 and I will have had so many more moments with them and with Pete and with all of the other people whom I love." But lately -- even before reading the article about Jacqueline Gagne -- I have changed my mind. I don't want to just live 5 years. Five years is not enough. I want to live for many, MANY more years. I want to have a very long, full life filled with precious memories and magical moments. I want to look back and view this time as a short, challenging blip in an otherwise long, fulfilling life. And so I am now aiming completely and totally for the hole! Forget setting myself up for a "birdie" -- I don't WANT a birdie. I WANT a hole-in-one! I WANT to live as long as my Great-Aunt Jo. And for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting my Great-Aunt Jo, she is 97 and still very much alive.
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