I've always been a hockey fan
I'm not good at it, but I like to watch it
I understand the rules, I can remember a lot of the players names
as well as team names (one time last year mike & russ didn't believe me, so they tested me, and I think I did pretty good!)
hockey is nostalgic for me
i remember the many afternoons at the hazelridge rink
cheering on my brothers team
and playing with all the other "hockey sisters" in the arena
but mostly, hockey reminds me of my grandpa klassen
we often slept over at grandma & grandpas house on devon avenue on saturday nights
and grandpa had a saturday night ritual
hockey night in canada
i remember grandma would run me a bath and i would splash around in there
(you kinda had to splash.. since grandma & grandpa would only ever fill the tub with about 2-3 inches of water! good mennonites, conserving water *smile*)
once I was done and I had changed into my pjs grandpa would have me come join him to watch the hockey game.
he would pull out his black comb that he always kept in his shirt pocket
and he would gently and patiently comb through my long blonde hair
i had long hair, and it was often full of tangles
but grandpa didn't mind
he would often have some kind of treat for us while we watched
a bag of smarties was often the treat
and grandpa believed that we needed to savour them - that it was quite silly to grab a handful of smarties and chew them up all at the same time
so we ate them, one at a time
slowly, enjoying
thats how grandpa was - always looking for ways to savour everything - enjoy it to the fullest
once the game was over (or it was time for bed) we'd go to the kitchen for our "midnight snack"
a bowl of cornflakes with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a few slices of banana
then we would get tucked in, tuckered out, and happy
i really miss my grandpa
so, hockey makes me nostalgic, and i can't help but get excited with all the hoopla over the jets.
there is something wonderful about a city that rallies behind it's team
i have even got teary reading newspaper interviews with the new jets team.
it's going to be fun to have the nhl back in our city
hot 103 put out this song - basically they re-wrote the words to lmfao's party rock anthem to be all about the jets, and i can't help smiling the whole time that I listen to it.
the official season is about to start - and with nostalgia and excitement.. i can't wait!
4 comments:
Your grandpa combed out your hair. That has to be one of the loveliest grandpa-grandaughter memories I've ever heard of. Love, love love. Sigh.
I agree. my heart melted when you described in fine detail, the saturday night traditions. i chuckled at the splashing during bathtime (go menno's), and I could envision your grandpa taking out his black comb and working out the tangles, with you on his lap.
so sweet. thanks for sharing your nostalgia. (love the Jets anthem.)
Ashley - you were so blessed with the grandparents God gave to you!! I will always remember Grandpa with his little black comb too! When I was little I had long hair to my waist, and Poppa would very gently put it up in a pony tail on the top of my head at the back. Every hair would be in place! And he was so gentle. Every time I did your hair - I remember thinking about HOW my dad did this pony tail so expertly with such big man hands!! Grandpa's and Poppa's that do this are extra special! love mom
BEAUTIFUL! I know that Josh recalls those evenings with a lot of fondness too. It just shows how love can be communicated so deeply through simple things and not necessarily a lot of fanfare.
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