Hockey Fanatic

I am a fanatic. I'm not just a sports fan. I'm a fanatic. I take my sports teams seriously. I am a diehard NY Yankees fan. Therefore, by default, I hate the BoSux. Actually, I hate all Boston teams- The Bruins, The Sux, The Patriots. I would hate the Celtics, but I don't like basketball, so it seems a moot point.

Most people think my favorite sport is baseball. No, it's just the one I have the most access to. While I am passionate about the baseball, and watch as many games as I can, I am in my element when I'm watching Hockey. I become a very different person when I'm watching Hockey.

My favorite sports teams are the same teams that are my dad's favorites. I suppose that is natural. Hockey is no different. We are Canadiens fans. For those who do not know, that is Montreal. As in Quebec. Perhaps some might see it as a weird choice. I suppose so, now that I'm living in SW Ohio and our closest hockey team is either Chicago or Nashville. But I grew up just a few hours from Montreal. My grandfather's parents lived in Quebec; so when you consider that, it is natural that Montreal is our team. There is a small part of my heritage that is Canadian. My last name is a daily reminder of that heritage. But my Canadian roots really come out when it comes to hockey. If you know me as a fairly reserved person, you would not recognize me when I'm watching hockey.

Today was every North American hockey fan's dream game. Team USA playing Team Canada for gold in the 2010 Olympics. I had been hoping for such a matchup for weeks! The difference is, I was cheering for Canada. I pulled out one of my Canadiens jerseys and wore it. I realized I don't get to wear it very much. And that I really feel pretty in my jersey. I suppose that's a bit odd. Or it's more of the Canadian roots coming through! Erich came downstairs in the first period and wondered why I wasn't cheering or swearing yet. Because there was no score. But shortly after, Canada scored which caused me to whoop and jump off the couch, startling the dogs who were dozing next to me. It was an incredible hockey game, the two teams were very well matched. It wasn't a blowout. It was possibly the best hockey game I've ever seen. And then, with less than 30 seconds to go, USA tied the game. UGH!!! So it went into overtime. And when Sidney Crosby scored the goal for Canada, I did feel a little bit teary eyed. Canada invented hockey, and hockey is a Canadian sport. Not to be anti-patriotic. Team USA did a great job, and should be very proud. But the Canadian in me was so proud; knew how much it meant to Canada to have that gold.

Tonight while talking to my parents, my mom just kind of laughed at me when I said I was cheering for Canada. They had missed the game, and so when Dad got on and I told him it was a great game, and then we discussed how I had been cheering for Canada, he laughed too. But it was more that he expected me to do that. Now he was cheering for the USA, but we talked about the game and it was a lot of fun. Dad & I haven't talked about hockey much lately. We used to get CBC on satellite dish when I was growing up, and every Saturday night we could get Hockey Night in Canada. Now most of the time it was in French, so we couldn't understand it. But all you really need to know is when they score! Dad and I spent many Saturday nights watching the Canadiens, not able to understand what the announcers were saying. Mom got so annoyed with us! And then, in the intermission, Don Cherry would come on and talk. We always thought he was a bit of a jerk. He is loud, and wears clothing that is equally as loud.

I remember watching the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. Dad went to bed, but I stayed up. And when the Canadiens won, I cheered and woke up the whole house! I miss watching Hockey- it's such a rush! I guess next year I will have to order the center ice package with the cable company. I did last year, but this year I didn't, thought it was silly to spend the money. Hockey just makes me so happy, I guess it is worth the money.

Oh, and the picture? Me with the Stanley Cup. Well, a replica of it. I went to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in June, 2008. Lucky me- my job took me to Toronto for a conference, and I made a side trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There was a long wait to get your picture taken with the Cup, but I would have stood in line all day.

10 years

Today marks the 10th anniversary of my Grandpa Wager's passing. Well, sort-of. He actually died on February 29. I often think he did that so we wouldn't have an annual reminder.

Even if he hadn't died in February, February would still make me think of him. Growing up we took a two week vacation every February to visit Grandma & Grandpa in Florida. It always coincided with President's day, because the Daytona 500 was run the day before. February always meant spending time with my grandparents, going to this magical place full of sunshine and love. And food. My grandmother was an amazing cook, and no matter what time of day we got there, she would have a huge meal prepared. I was never able to eat when we travelled. I remember getting to Grandma's one night at 11pm, and all we wanted to do was go to bed, but she had a ham dinner waiting for us. With her homemade rolls. And she would not let us go to bed until we ate.

February has become less magical now that I'm an adult. It seems that winter will never end. Everything is grey-the trees have long ago lost their leaves, the snow has this gray dingy look to it. The snow is not as pretty as it was in December. We are ready for spring, although deep down we all know that in 6 months we'll be griping about the heat. February also holds the personal memories of my grandfather's death. His brother died in February too. Actually, their father died in February as well. I guess February was not a kind month to the Wager men.

It is also a time for the memories. This year more than others I have felt as if I was wrapped in the memories each day. In the past ten years, I've had moments where I feel like I'm forgetting him. But this year, the memories came one after the other. I found myself talking about him more. And while I still miss him, the memories felt warm; comforting.

Grandpa was a very gentle soul. He was soft spoken, and didn't say a lot. Although he could talk up a storm if he wanted to. He had an incredible green thumb- something he didn't seem to pass on to any of us. My grandfather could grow anything. I remember him taking grafts of different trees and creating his own oranges. Their backyard in Florida was full of trees-grapefruit, orange, honeybell. He would go outside every morning and tend to his trees and plants. He would pick oranges for us and bring them inside, and then he would make fresh squeezed orange juice for my sister and I. It was warm, and light, and so sweet. Orange juice was never my favorite, but I loved Grandpa's orange juice. Then he would read his paper. I am pretty sure he read every article in the paper, every day.

My Grandfather was the first bookworm I knew. He loved to read. For years, it was always easy to get him something for Christmas. We just went to the book store. Often, we went to the Civil War section. Grandpa was a Civil War buff. He could talk about the Civil War in depth, from both sides. When we took a family vacation to Gettysburg in 2003, all of us felt his presence with us. I have become a Civil War buff as well. I think that is when I miss him the most. I will read about a general, or a battle, and have the urge to sit down and talk about it with my Grandfather. He loved all history. I remember when I was maybe 10, he sat down and told me the history of our town- I was amazed that he knew about all of this stuff that happened before he was born. He had a panoramic picture of our town, Berlin, NY, taken a few years before his own birth, yet he knew what every building was in the picture. I remember him carefully going over it with me. I honestly think I got my love of books and history from him. My sister shares the love of history. We consider it one of the best gifts he gave us.

He was a patient man. He would sit with us as we did our school work. We always missed a week of school in February, so we took our assignments with us. Grandpa would sit with us as we did it, answering questions and helping us if we needed it. But he wouldn't tell us the answer, he would help us figure it out. He would sit with us for hours, never getting upset.

My Grandfather was the smartest person I ever met. He just seemed to know everything. But not in the show-off, know-it-all way. I always admired him.

He could also be very funny. His sense of humor was very dry, and when you would least expect it Grandpa would come up with something that would leave you in tears. He was such a huge part of my life. I miss him daily. But he has sent us a terrific gift, my niece Sydney. Sometimes she has a look, just like he used to. She's quite an amusing girl, so she's probably got his sense of humor too. And she already loves books. In another six months or so, we will have another gift from heaven. I feel Grandpa with me every day. So while I still miss him tremendously, I know he is not completely gone.

This picture is how I remember him- sitting in his chair reading. Oddly enough, it also helps me remember my Grandma. Do you see that the lamp is still wrapped in it's protective plastic? Her lamps were always kept covered in plastic to keep them nice. The couches had slip covers on them. When I watch re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond, and see Marie's living room- I think of my Grandma.

Saturday Snuggles

I usually sleep in on weekends. By Thursday my body is so worn out, it's hard to function. Some Saturdays I have appointments, and have to set the alarm clock. But the days I don't have any plans, the alarm stays silent, and I sleep very late in the morning. If I roll over the clock says '8:30', I know its too early! Of course, I could not do this if I had human children, but I do not. And my body needs the rest.

Some nights I'll remember to tell Erich it's ok to let the dogs in my room in the morning. If I don't mention it, he tries to keep them out of my room. Last night I did remember, and so around 8:30 this morning, my door opened and there was a great deal of excitement and happy snorts. Onyx doesn't like to get up on my bed any more, because she can't get off the bed by herself. I have special doggie stairs for them, but she refuses to use them.

Cobalt on the other hand loves to climb on my bed. When I am at work, he spends most of the day curled up in my bed. Or his bed. He just lets me sleep there at night! So Cobalt climbed in bed with me this morning. He nudged my shoulder with his nose, and I lifted up the blankets. He slid down by my leg, and stretched out against me. And slept for a couple more hours. I love to feel him snuggled in next to me, and even if I move, he just readjusts. Once he realized I was pretty much awake, he climbed up onto my chest, putting his paws near my throat, and rolled his head on me. That's something he's done for a while, and I rub his ears and pet his head, and he rolls his head from one side to the other, kind of dancing on me. His tail seems to go 100 mph at that time. And hes' so happy. It makes me laugh, and it's just a special time we share.

I love our Saturday (or Sunday) Snuggles!

long time

Well obviously I can't even keep in touch with myself! :) Each year when I write out Christmas cards, inevitably I find myself writing small notes of apology to recipients that I haven't kept in touch so much over the previous year. I used to say things like "I will try to do better next year". I've stopped doing that. Maybe I'll stop apologizing next. Wow wouldn't that be a stretch? Seems I'm always apologizing to someone about something. I could probably be so much more confident if I didn't feel like I had to say I'm sorry. I always mean to keep in touch with my friends, but then this thing called life gets in the way, and it doesn't happen. Does it make me a bad friend? Maybe. I prefer to think that good friends are determined by quality, not quantity, and I do try to put a lot into the quality aspect. And I look at my life, and I stand in awe of my sister, who works full time, has a husband, house, 3 year old child and 2 dogs, and is going to school to finish her Bachelors. I wonder how she does it. I think of my mom- who worked full time, had a family, made it to all of our functions and always had dinner on the table and the house cleaned, and I wonder how she did it. I am convinced she was super woman.

The fact is I can't keep up with everything. And so, things like correspondence sometimes take a backseat. I had thought I would keep up with this blog a lot, but after my last post I started a marathon knitting session, where I made 3 huge projects for family members for Christmas. Then I went on vacation for Christmas to see my family, and got sick on the trip, spent the entire month of January sick. So there goes another month!

I've been thinking though of just making this blog my random musings- not just about my fibro. I don't want to be one of those whiny sick people! So we'll see how frequently I manage to get back here- maybe more frequently so that I don't forget my password every time. haha!