When I was a young teenager my Dad announced that we
were moving from a big southern city to a much smaller town located about 5 hours north of us. He said he was tired of the "rat race" and wanted to spend the rest of his days in what he called "gods country". I was devastated..... I loved my school, my friends and my home. :( Upon arriving in our new destination I remember my Mom saying "Geez Bob it looks likeyou've moved us to the moon!" The term "hellhole" quickly raced across my mind.
My parents quickly registered me for figure skating classes to help in my transition. I had been taking lessons since the age of 5 so they figured this would be a great way to soften the blow for me and help me make new friends. I was quickly embraced in my new community but in the back of my mind I was still plotting my escape. That was until a few weeks later when I noticed the cutest boy I had ever seen waiting to get on the ice for hockey practice as my lessons were over. For the first time in my life I was utterly
breathless and truly felt that butterfly in your stomach sensation. All of a sudden this little hick town didn't seem quite so bad.
As the weeks and months continued by I ran into this
boy over and over again at the Arena but we never spoke a word. I caught him glancing at me numerous times, probably because I was glancing back, and we shared awkward smiles but that was it. Eventually I started noticing him showing up earlier and earlier for his games. He would go up in the bleachers by himself and just sit there. I was either too naive or too insecure at the time to let it cross my mind that maybe he was watching "me". I just enjoyed the view and skated a little harder when he was there.......nothing
wrong with showing off a little for a cute boy :)
Our town was made up of French and English families and
two main high schools divided the teens into two obvious groups.....all of us hanging out with kids from our own school so other than the arena I never ran into this boy anywhere else.........EVER!! After asking around I found out his name and that he was known as the towns up and coming hockey star......he lived and breathed hockey from what I heard so his sudden showing up early for his games just led me to believe that he was anxious to get on the ice.
The winter passed quickly and before I knew it summer
was upon us......I went months without seeing the object of my affection. In the fall the Arena opened back up. I was asked to help coach the little kids and I quickly agreed. This meant three times the ice time and three more times the chance to run into my crush. We started "our dance" all over again. Smiles, looks, and fantasy encounters but again another whole season passed without a mere hello. This was getting pathetic!!! My Dad had brought me
up to never chase a boy but this was getting ridiculous.....how much more could I take???? I never did get the nerve to approach him and summer came again. All through July and August I thought of nothing but him and vowed the next time I saw him at the Arena I was going to throw caution to the wind and finally introduce myself.
The arena opened.....time went by but the cute boy
never showed up. Eventually I had heard two older woman who worked in the canteen say that he had been picked up to play on a Junior B team down south and had moved. My heart took a nose dive. I finished out the rest of the year and never skated again. By this time I had started College and was working part time so I basically didn't have the time to skate anymore....besides the Arena
only reminded me of my missed opportunity with the cute hockey player.
My first year of College I met a boy named Dave and we
would spend the next 7 years together. Three years into the relationship I got pregnant.......we got married, ended up having 2 boys but we had grown apart and it was painfully apparent to me that we were two totally different people who wanted two totally different things from life.....so I left.
Over the years I would think of the hockey player who
sat up in the bleachers and wonder what ever became of him. I could not understand how someone I had never spoken to could still have such an impact on my heart years later and still live in my memories!!
Skip forward to February of 1998 I am now 31 years old.
I get a call from my girlfriend, she said she had just won tickets to a comedy show that was being held at our local bar that night and she wanted me to go.
Well I ran a Daycare and the thought of a late night which probably would involve alcohol on a week night, when I had to get up early to a bunch of energetic kids did not sound overly appealing to me! I envisioned it to something comparable to having dental surgery. But she had been going through a rough time and desperately needed a night out so after much arm twisting I
agreed to go.
Once there I was glad I given in, the comedians were hilarious and I was having a great time. During the intermission my friend and
I got up to use the washroom and all of a sudden someone stepped right in my path. I look up and it took all of half a second to realize the cute hockey player was all GROWN UP and standing right in front of me. He said "HI Sandy.........I used to watch you skate". I said "I remember....why did you never talk to me?" He informed me he thought I was "stuck up" and figured I would have shot him down in burning flames. We shared a laugh and he invited my friend and I to sit at his table with him and his friend. After the show we all went out for coffee till 4 in the morning..........I guess I had forgotten I had to get up early......or maybe the floating on air sensation I was feeling just made me not give a darn.
He asked me out for dinner and a movie that weekend which just happened to fall on Valentines Day. We never did make it to the
movie......we just sat in the restaurant and talked and talked. We didn't even notice we were the last ones left until we were politely asked leave :) During our dinner conversation I found out that the year I had started College he had come back to town play for our Junior A hockey team known as the Sudbury Wolves. He would later leave again when he was drafted to an NHL farm team. He
would severely injure his leg there and his dreams of a hockey career would be shattered. I also found out that at one point he had even lived on the same street as me and my husband for a short period of time. Upon running into him at the comedy show he had just returned a few weeks previous to that after playing professional hockey in Europe, but he had a hard time with the culture
differences and was home sick for Canada....Lucky me!
We have been together ever since and in a few days will
mark 14 years together. We have 2 daughters age 11 and 9. Ironically the oldest is the spitting image of her Dad and she plays hockey.........the youngest is my mini me and she prefers to lace up figure skates :-)
He has been the most amazing partner, father and step
father to my 2 boys and I cherish every day with him. Sometimes life leads us in different directions only to lead us back together again!!
During our first date I remember asking him why at 32
he had yet to settle down and he just looked at me with a smirk and said " I guess I've been waiting for a girl like you"
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