Free Hockey Puck

On Friday night the kindergarteners in Mr. TOF’s class were presented with an opportunity for a family field trip to a UMD women’s hockey game.  Mr. TOF was dying to participate, of course, and Dr. Peds thought he would be done with work in time to take him.  There was no school on Friday, so Mr. TOF had plenty of time to obsess about the upcoming exciting event for hours and hours.  Every ten minutes, the question, “How much longer until it’s time to leave for the hockey game?”

Things got a little hairy at work for Dr. Peds, so I ended up needing to drive Mr. TOF to the arena and wait with him in the lobby to meet the rest of the class and wait for Dr. Peds.  Admittedly, I wasn’t very excited about that duty, but in the end it made for some very interesting people watching in the fancy new lobby of the new hockey arena, and the flugelhorn in the pep band that zipped around the lobby with a powerful trumpet blast made up for it.

When Mr. SP was about the same age as Mr. TOF he also went to a hockey game with Dr. Peds, but he lost interest after a bit and they didn’t stay for the whole event.  That was just fine.  When Dr. Peds arrived in the lobby, tired from a long day’s work at the hospital he looked over at me and quietly said, “Maybe we can leave at halftime?”  I laughed in his face.  Loudly.

I knew there was no way he was going to be able to pry that kindergartener from his stadium seat until the very last buzzer.

I assure you, this kid was all about the hockey game.  He loudly cheered for the Bulldogs (who won).  He relished the concessions (a hot dog and popcorn).  He loved sitting with his friends from kindergarten.  He was riveted to his seat until the last second and came home with a free hockey puck with the Bulldog’s mascot on top.

The hockey puck inspired my kindergartener to make two makeshift goals on the driveway and bat the puck back and forth with some old hockey sticks that have been hanging around here for a long time.  He dressed himself in a Bulldog shirt and refused to wear a coat, so he came in every once in a while to warm back up and try to convince his siblings to leave their books and come out to play with him.