We were invited to the social event of the season Sunday. It was perhaps an event that shows the season of our lives at least.
It wasn’t any St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Partaking in those is a thing of the past, though I do have fond memories of playing hooky from work to swill green beer on the side of the road in 40 degree temperatures to watch a parade or two, or three, or four.
This was much more of a spectacle.
We are blessed with two grandkids and a third on the way. The eldest is 4. She’s learning to play hockey. I was catching up on some work Sunday morning while my wife was away. I took an important phone call, and the voice on the other end informed me, “Grandpa, you and grandma can come watch me skate tonight.”
Not wanting to make such an important decision on my own and thinking about an over hourlong drive each way to the ice arena on a Sunday night, I deferred to a higher power.
“I’ll see what grandma says.”
At that point, I really didn’t think it was going to happen. Sunday nights are generally low-key in the McLoone household. The switch to my brain is toggled to off, and we catch up on a TV series or two.
Not this time. We switched our evening agenda to the afternoon, which was nice, because I was able to cease tackling anything mentally challenging earlier than normal. The decision was made when we learned that our little skater had told her mom that she invited us, and it was up to Grandma Lolo.
We surprised her as she was taking the ice with scores of others her age. It was amazing to see how well these kids could get around on the ice. We sure were proud of her, and the smile on her face when she saw we were there made 130 miles of driving more than worth it.
It’s been a lot of years since we’ve followed kids to events as they grow up. At our stage of life, this is a lot more fun. You just pop in, sit back and enjoy.
It changed our Sunday routine for the better.