Great Expectations (part deux)

The Americans - celebrating their well earned gold medal victory.

Earlier this week, my wife shared her excitement and subsequent disappointment over taking the girls to the World Women's Hockey Championship gold medal game.  Here is the other half of the story from my point of view.

As you know the plan was for my wife to take our two oldest girls to the game for an awesome Mommy-Daughters memory making extravaganza.  As you also know it didn't go exactly according to plan as Noli came down with a fever at the game and they had to leave.

So there I was at home spending time with Mimi our 15 month old.  It's not too often that I get time alone with Mimi and I was really looking forward to doing so throughout the day.  Plus I was especially beat this day from throwing around boxes of files all day.

Mimi and I started our Daddy-Daughter night with a nice walk during which Mimi fell asleep. While she was catching zees in the stroller never far from my reach, I tidied the driveway and then lounged on the porch and read a book until she woke up.  Upon which we went inside and played with some toys until it was bath time.  I was so reminded of the amount of time I used to spend with Evie doing similar things at the end of the day and I counted myself blessed to have this time.  We got out of the bath, got our jammies on and settled into bed with a couple of books.  I got through about half of one and that's when the difficulties started.

Mimi got cranky as she fought the slumber that so desperately wanted to overtake her.  So I tried giving her a bottle, then rocking her, then singing to her (if you were familiar with my singing voice you wouldn't be surprised that this only made her cry louder) and then finally all three at the same time.  Nothing doing.  So I got up and walked with her back and forth and still she wouldn't stop.  Finally she went and got her booties, stood at the back door, looked at me with those sad little eyes and cried.  And I got it!   I said, "Do you want to go for another walk?"  And she grunted affirmatively.  So out we went again.

After the second nice walk of the evening, I took her inside, put on a Baby Einstein video, laid on the couch with her on my chest and lo' and behold she settled in and was well on her way to dreamland.

That's when I hear someone or something at the door.  The doorknob starts to turn, I look up in horror thinking it was my in-laws stopping by to see how things were going.  Now that sounds bad I realise and I want to assure you that 99% of the time I am more than pleased to have them pop in - on this night however after spending about an hour just to get Mimi to settle down and thinking that maybe I would get to sleep early myself I was hoping ti was the wind.  But it wasn't.  So I raise index finger to my lips as the door opens and in rushes my wife...my wife?!  What?  But the game can't possible be over?  Not even half way?  What's going on?  What happened?  AHHHHH!!!!

Thankfully before I had a chance to ask even one of the many questions that were swirling around my groggy little brain in that moment, Alexis said, "Noli sick...she got a fever at the game.  Get up quick, you have to take Evie back right now!"

"Okay."  I get up, put a shirt on, shake the cobwebs from my head and run out the door to the still running car.  I look at Evie and say, "Ready babe?"  Evie anxiously nods her head and says, "Drive fast Daddy."  And did I ever...fast but safely.

We flew back to the arena ignoring the gas light that came on shortly before making it to the arena and all other nuisances.  I whip into a parking space at the far end of the lot and hop out of the car.  Evie gets out too and we start booking it to the game.  I grab Evie and throw her onto my shoulders and run as quickly as I can as Evie laughs and bounces all the way there.  We made it right at the 10 minute mark of the second period and got to watch the second half of the game.

What a game!  What a finish! And hats off to Team U.S.A. for coming onto our ice and taking that gold medal.  They deserve the win and all we can say is, "We'll get it next time...hopefully."  On the way out Evie said to me, "I had fun Daddy...but I'm a little disappointed [that Canada didn't win]."  I nodded in agreement and replied, "Me too...but we can't win 'em all.  You know, it's a good lesson.  Sometimes regardless of the effort we put in, no matter how much we want something or how hard we try for it, we don't always get the desired result. We don't always get what we want.  Doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best and try to win them all - but remember there will be times we are disappointed.  Learn from it and try again."

Evie looked at me and asked, "When's the next gold medal game?"  I told her that I thought it was next year and she replied, "Maybe we'll win that one...do you think we'll win it?"

"Maybe, I hope so," I reply.

"Me too."