It’s 9:00 p.m. on a random Thursday evening in November. It’s dark, cold, and I’m exhausted. I’ve seen a deer, a frog, and I’ve had two neighbors asked me what I was doing. Technically, one asked me what I was doing; the other asked me if I was nuts.  Either way, for the past 3 hours I’ve been outside cleaning up leaves… in the dark. My feet are numb, my nose is running, and I can barely feel my fingertips.

How did I get to this point? It all started back on Tuesday when I checked the forecast and saw that it was going to be sunny and in the mid 60s. For a guy in the Midwest, this is like finding a unicorn or seeing Sasquatch. To have this kind of weather in mid-to-late November — and on a weekend no less! It’s what we dream about. I knew I had a lot going on the rest of the week, but nonetheless I followed my standard operating procedure of booking a tee time and asking questions later.

This is where things got a little dicey. I had put off a few things last weekend to play 18 holes on Sunday, so I was going to have an uphill battle. It also may have slipped my mind that my wife and I were going to dinner on Friday evening with some friends. So I basically had two days to get two weeks worth of errands and chores done.

I started off Wednesday morning by picking up a few things at Walgreens on my way to the office. Then, in what turned out to be a brilliant move, I went to the grocery store at lunch. Why was this so brilliant you ask? Well, in addition to needing groceries, my wife needed a whole list full of items for several upcoming events we (she) was hosting. Since I was heading back to the office, I picked up every item on the list that didn’t need to be kept cold, which was the majority of the list. Then on my way back, I picked up my dry cleaning and some Chick-Fil-A.

After work, I had to pick up my daughter from dance practice. This is where I made a do-or-die decision to go to a second grocery store in the same day. I managed to pick up the remaining items on the list and pulled up to the pickup line at the dance studio just as the girls were walking out. BOOM! That’s what I’m talking about! As we drove home, I was feeling pretty good about myself, but I knew I wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Thursday was just as productive as the day before. I managed to get to my doctor’s appointment, pick up a prescription and make a quick run to Target. I was starting to get cocky. All I had to do was get the leaves taken care of after work and I was home free. Unfortunately, that feeling of cockiness ended as soon as soon as I pulled up to my house. I expected that there was going to be a decent number of leaves since I hadn’t picked any up the previous weekend. What I didn’t expect was for the wind to have picked up in the afternoon and blown all of my neighbors leaves into my yard as well. I sat in my car for a second to pump myself up.

I envisioned myself on the course on Saturday (sunny, 65 degrees, and sitting at even par with three holes to play). Then I got out of my car and was slapped across the face with a 20 mph gust of wind. I may have let out a squeal before I scurried inside like an 8-year-old who had been playing in the snow too long. After changing out of my suit, I put on enough layers to make me look like the Michelin Man. I trudged outside like a man on a mission.

This brings us back to where we started. I was cold and miserable, but there wasn’t a leaf in sight by the time I was done. After a glass of scotch by the fireplace, I went to bed. I woke up a little sore, embarrassingly.

“I can’t believe you really did that last night,” my wife said. My response: “Totally worth it!”

Saturday was absolutely perfect. The weather was great. To my surprise the course was fairly wide open, and I played pretty well. I enjoyed a great cigar afterward at the outdoor bar and my wife met me for dinner later. I really can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon in November.