Which is nerdspeak for ‘I have just achieved the next rank in this task/profession’. I am now one Dad level higher than previously, and it strangely had almost nothing to do with Max.
We went out to the Oldtimer’s Charity hockey game tonight, just the wife and I. During the second period, the hockey pros played against a kid’s team. The kids weren’t more than 6 or 7 years old, some of them still very wobbly on skates. I had a little flush of excitement as I thought about my little dude being out there like that someday, but this time it faded pretty quickly. This isn’t a bad thing, though. Instead of daydreaming about my own kid, I was able to watch these kids have a great time and feel good for them.
Max might end up on skates playing competitive hockey someday, but then again, maybe he won’t. There will be no shortage of interesting activities for my song and dance man, and whatever they are I will have a blast watching him and cheering him on. I’m happy that tonight I could cheer on the tykes on the ice and have just as much fun and contentment as I do when I’m watching my own boy.
Also: tonight was a nice night out on the town with my wife. The lad was teary when we were leaving, but his aunt scooped him up and cheered him up so quickly that the tears were already drying as we stepped out of the door. You never like leaving a sad boy, but he was in good hands, and it’s good for all of us to have these evenings separated from each other.
Chris Loblaw, Author 