Jonathan
January was a busy month for us. The baby is due next month so we have to get Everly into the third room and hers ready for a new born. At this age she loves everything so we just decide to go with a Disney themed room, because who doesn't like Disney? Maisie took it upon herself to design the room and wanted me to be surprised. I love that she was so excited about this and went along with it. With all the commotion happening in there I'm sure whatever it is is awesome.
I get woken up by my phone ringing and don't even see who it is before answering.
"Hello" I moan.
"Hey Jonathan" a man says and I try to wake myself up. I look at the ID and see it's Stan Bowman. Now I'm awake.
"Hey Stan, what's up" I ask swinging my legs over the bed.
"I have God news. The lock out is done and you can start practices up at the end of this week. You're the first one to know" he says and suddenly I'm more awake.
"Seriously. Like we're going to play hockey this year" I ask.
"Yeah, and we got you a good team. Don't let me down" he teases.
"Of course not. We've been waiting so long for this, I won't let it go to waste" I assure him.
"Glad to know" he says. He tells me of the terms and conditions and what all has changed. He says the team should be in soon and it will take no time to get started. After talking for a hour we hang up I fall back onto the bed and let out a sigh. My long living nightmare is over. 2013 is already looking up and it's only been a few weeks. I roll over and see that Maisie wasn't there. I check the time and see it's nearly noon, how was I still sleeping? With two kids that's never a thing. I go to the living room to see Jackson watching sports center, a piece about the lockout comes up and they announce that it's all over. We can play for lord Stanley again and everything seemed right in the world.
"Does that mean the Hawks will play again" Jackson asks pointing at the tv.
"Yeah, we got hockey back" I smile and he lights up. He jumps on the couch and does a little dance.
"Oh man I miss uncle Patrick and the other Patrick, I miss Hossa and Crow and Hammer, I miss the UC and the goal horn" he yells jumping around.
"Me too bud, me too" I smile. Everly claps from the play pen not sure why we were happy but she loves being happy. I pick her up and kiss her cheek then place her back in the pen. I want to celebrate with my beautiful wife but simply couldn't find her, I knock on the spare where I heard music coming from.
"Maisie" I ask.
"You can come in" she says and I look at the door with confusion. I haven't been allowed in there since she started.
"Are you sure" I ask.
"Yup" she replies and I shrug. I open the door but wasn't ready for what I was about to see. The walls were all a dark blue and the Disney castle was painted on the ceiling in amazing detail. There was a bed with a Mickey Mouse headboard and a Mickey Mouse glove chair right next to it. Around the baseboards was film with every Disney movie imaginable on them. The details were jaw dropping. I knew she was artistic, being a photographer and all, but this was next level. There was a little something from each movie, the Aladdin carpet, the toy box from Toy Story, Peter Pan and tinker Bells shadows, the whole nine yards. I felt like I was back at Disney.
"Maisie, holy hell this is insane" I gasp.
"Thanks, I actually really love it. Sometimes I get in these moods where I feel like I'm in my own little world. I set my mind to something, I don't know what happens. Next thing I know I have all these ideas and urges to do something great. For the longest time I didn't have the resources to make those ideas happen, but now I do" she shrugs.
"How is it that my extremely pregnant wife is so freaking talented" I ask wrapping my arms around her.
"Amazing things happen when you let them" she smirks. I lean over and place a kiss on those perfectly plump lips.
"I have amazing news" I say and she raises her eyebrows.
"Do you now" she challenges.
"I do. Stan called this morning... and we have hockey once again. We're getting the band back together and we're going to compete for the cup" I tell her.
"Seriously" she says with so much enthusiasm. I wasn't sure if she was excited for hockey to be back or happy to get rid of me and my over protectiveness but I didn't mind either way.
"Yes. By the end of this week we will be practicing and it will be the beginning of the next chapter of my career, we will be playing once again. It's finally happening" I sigh. Man it felt good knowing we were back. She throws her arms around me and hugs me tight, even with her large belly she still gave the best hugs.
"Oh I'm so happy right now! We gotta tell your parents. I wonder when Patrick's coming home. I wonder if Emma has found out oh how I've missed her" she rambles.
"Woah now, calm down. Don't need you having the baby" I joke.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really excited" she beams.
"Really? I didn't think you liked hockey this much. I mean I know you love it, but I couldn't tell so much with the lockout and all" I shrug.
"Hockey is a big part of who you are, what this family is. The lockout sucked for you but it was no walk in the park for me either. I wanted so many times for it to be over so I could be behind the glass taking pictures, to see Jackson just soak up the UC atmosphere. To be able to talk to the guys and their wives and share a laugh. I love this life we have, and I'll admit without hockey it's been hard. But I'm more than happy to have it back" she claims. I place my lips on hers again and I feel a smile grow.
"You're the greatest" I mumble against her lips. We head out of the room and I grab Everly before taking her to her new room. She wasn't big enough to be in a bed like that quite yet, but she's become quite the escape artist. We found her crawling around trying to get into Jackson's room the other day. I take her to her new room and she seemed pretty excited. But not as excited as Jackson.
"This is so cool! Look there's the incredibles and dory and nemo and mufasa" Jackson says naming off some of his favorite characters. Maisie made a ball pit in the corner and as soon as I set Everly down that's where she goes. Her and Jackson play as we watch on. This moment was pretty cool. We had hockey back and was moving forward as a family. It didn't seem like a big part of my life, but it was a important one and I wanted to make sure I would cherish it.