The big day finally came and went, bringing C to the hockey game, or should I say C getting to see his favorite old sitter Chris (my friend Topher…get it, ChrisTopher). When I was watching C Thursday night, he told me that it would be his first hockey game. I was shocked since leading up to that night he had been talking about what the game would be like, the type of action we would see, the rivalries of the team, all leading me to believe that he had gone with a friend before. Nope, this was to be the first hockey game he had ever been to! What a responsibility!!

Well, first Topher and I had to pick up C from his bus stop. This was an absolutely awesome moment with C running off the bus and rushing over to Topher’s car to see if he looked different. The night before C was asking me if I thought that Topher would look different from when he saw him roughly six months ago. He had joked around, drawing pictures of a man with long ponytails, piercings and tattoos all over. I had passed this on to Topher who appropriately pulled his hood tightly around his face so that C would have to wait until he sat down in the back seat for a peak. Both exchanged hellos and after bursting forth with all his curiosity at what Topher would look like, C was granted a view. All laughed and we sat finding out about how C’s day at school had been. He was quite proud of some video games that came through the “book” list purchase.

Now, when C and I were first envisioning how the afternoon would go with our shared friend, we weren’t planning on it being absolutely freezing! So, football was canceled for indoor pickup games of basketball. We headed over to my wonderful university to check into the open court. However, there were no more inflated basketballs! Time for plan B (or C rather). But what was the alternate plan, C wondered. I gave him two options: pottery in the craft center or, ROLLER SKATING! This was an obvious choice for an 8 year old. So, we drove over to the Skylite Roller Skating Center on Park Ave. C quickly had skates on his feet and dragged his buddy Chris out on the floor. I followed and just beamed at watching C interact not only with Topher and myself on the rink, but another boy around his age that also seemed to fall every now and then. The best part was seeing C run back to the table we had put our jackets on and grab his neon orange ski mask, done it, and come back out onto the rink. It was hard not to fall from laughing as I skated around, watching him keep readjusting the hat, fall, get back up and repeat the sequence. The other boy was quite intrigued with the hat and was soon given a chance to try skating around with it on! Two hours and many bruises later between the three of us, we decided to go get dinner before the game.

C’s dinner choice was Papa Gino’s accompanied by pre and post meal hip-hop from his favorite radio station WXLO, 94.5. While waiting for our pizza (half cheese for C, mushroom and pepperoni for Topher and me), we entertained ourselves by talking about the best soda mixes possible at the soda fountain, boogers and burped alphabets, and were showered by C’s icecubes that he began to spit from laughing so hard and from the influence of the silly conversation. We needed to curtail this for the benefit of the rest of the eatery, so
Topher and I started to create a story of what happens to kids when they get Papa Gino upset. C took it hook line and sinker! We warned him that kids who were caught misbehaving got put out back in the kitchen, where Papa would dust them with flour and sauce, leaving them sprinkled with cheese for the rats to come and get them. I know this is a bit of an extreme story to make up, but it was definitely worth the laughs and plate size eyes on C as we told it.

So, on to the game!

Topher and I had to keep reminding C not to get too far ahead of us with so many cars and people out on a Friday night. He was just so excited to get in that stadium though! We entered to a foyer where several groups were gathering before the game as well as photo opps with the team’s mascot, Fins. C exclaimed, “I wonder if he’ll remember me from when he came to (my school)!” He ran right over and gave Fins a hug and high five! Everything was of interest to C, eyes darting all over to take everything in. We got our tickets along with a program and a bag of foam pucks to try for a prize at the end of the game.

We started off with pretty good seats, but right before the Sharks entrance, I spotted some free seats right next to the isle the team would use to exit and enter the bench. This gave C the chance to high-five all the guys on the team as they came in and out. Within two minutes of when the team would be entering/exiting, he would switch seats with me to be right next to that isle, face beaming with excitement at being up close with the players. During the entire game, his excitement didn’t fade a bit or loyalty to the team, shouting loud and proud “Go Sharks” at key moments, regardless of if others seemed to be cheering. In the third period, I spotted some seats across the ice that were at ice level and asked C if he wanted to be where the real action was. C was thrilled at the chance to be right up close. The puck hit the glass several times, players crashed in front of us, and C just took it all in with wide eyes and excited questions of when could he throw his bag of pucks. The period came to a close and he tossed his pucks over the glass trying to get them in the center ring for a free autographed jersey. None seem to make it and we made our way back to the car. The radio was on, but that was about the only noise in the car apart from small chit-chat between Topher and myself. C was probably realizing that once we dropped him off the night would be over. We did however stay for quite awhile with him at his house, chatting with his mom, playing with their dogs.

I hope that this story has entertained a few and possibly inspired others. I can’t express how happy I feel giving C this chance to see a hockey game, but more importantly hang with Chris. Maybe there will be one more chance before I graduate from Clark, but I sure will never forget this awesome night out. Just remember, Papa’s always watching!