Family Parade

The sun dropped beneath the peaks while we were inside.
The meal was good, we laughed til we nearly cried.
Upon our return to the lit street aglow this night.
I took in the scent of wood fire and a sliver of moonlight.
But what I noticed the most, the piece I’d not trade,
Was the chatter and laughter we shared, a family parade. 

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NH Avalanche 2000 vs. Assabet Valley Patriots – Ice Den 2

Less than 24 hours after their first victory of the season the NH Avalanche 2000 team was back on home ice against the Assabet Valley Patriots. Just three weeks ago these teams met at the Ice Den Arena in a contest that resulted in a 5-2 win for the visiting Patriots. That game, as I saw it, was a battle of wills and the Patriots got the better of it. Today was different, although the result was another loss to the Patriots.

Today the Avs opened up a little bit shaky and the Patriots took advantage by piling up some early offensive zone possession time. That didn’t last too long and the balance of the period was played pretty evenly. After one period of play there was no score in the game and only one minor penalty had been called along the way.

In the second period not much changed really except that the Patriots made the Avs pay for every little mistake; Immediately. Over a span of 11:07 in the middle period, the Patriots scored FIVE even strength goals on just 6 shots. Patriot forward, #17, Maxwell Ray scored the first four goals on consecutive shots. #81 for the Patriots, Daniel Desmarais, assisted on all four of those goals, and ended up with one goal and five assists in the contest. Before the period ended, the Avs did get a goal when Sebastian Beal started a play out of nothing by throwing a shot at net which hit the goalie’s pad and the side of the net, but the puck bounced out to Cody Sullivan who followed with his own shot. That shot was saved but the rebound was quickly pounced on by Max Lajeunesse who rifled it home. The goal was the fifth goal this line combination had scored in just two and a half games. The period would end with the Patriots firmly in control, 5-1.

The visitors scored a power play goal early in the third period, taking a 6-1 lead and it looked like the Avs might skate out the balance of the game and just mail it in. However, one of the endearing things about this Avs team has been their willingness to work hard, to try, and not give up. Moments later Sydney Herrington created a great scoring chance with a beautiful move just outside of the crease. She didn’t score but Michael Perry gathered the rebound, paused nicely to gather the puck and improve his angle, then ripped a shot into the net. The Patriots would score one more time and lead 7-2 for the rest of the game. The Avalanche did play hard down the stretch and actually had several chances with good puck possession. I didn’t track all of the shots taken in the game by both sides, but I would be willing to bet that the shots ratio was a whole lot closer than the goals scored ratio. It was one of those days where mistakes were turned into goals in the blink of an eye. And if you blinked at the right time and watched the balance of the game you’d never have felt like the score was that lopsided.

The Avalanche return to action on Friday night the 28th in the Turkey Tournament. Their first game is scheduled to start at 6:30pm Pacific Time, that’s a 9:30pm start here in the East, at Governor’s Academy. Then they’ll play two games on Saturday, at Dover and UNH respectively.

Finally, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Remember, we all have a lot to be thankful for, including tremendous kids.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

#familyfirst
#familytime

Happy Thanksgiving in my words

I know this is late according to the calendar. Is it ever late to be thankful? I guess there are times when it would be. Hopefully this isn’t one of them. Happy Thanksgiving in my words.

The following are some definitions of the word ‘happy’:

• feeling or showing pleasure, contentment, or joy
• causing or characterized by pleasure, contentment, or joy
• feeling satisfied that something is right or has been done right
• willing to do something
• resulting unexpectedly in something pleasant or welcome
• used in formulae to express a hope that somebody will enjoy a special day or holiday

The following are some definitions of the words ‘thanks’ and ‘thanksgiving’:

• an expression of gratitude for something
• a prayer that offers thanks to God
• an expression or an act of giving thanks
• a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

So maybe I would say, in my words, a joyous contentment in expressing gratitude. Or maybe pleasant satisfaction in publicly celebrating divine goodness.

When I dig to the core of the meaning of Happy Thanksgiving to me, I truly get to a place of content, of joy, of genuine gratitude and an internal celebration of divine goodness. It’s not about the stuff, or the things; all of which I can’t take to heaven anyways. It’s about the times that could have been worse, but they weren’t. It is about the times that were so amazing in a moment when I felt the least deserving. It is about the wondrous warmth and goodness in people when so many seem hard and cold at times. It’s about my family and loved ones. We didn’t pick our families, I am so glad God did it for us. It’s the joy of being a dad, being needed, as shown by the look in my baby’s eye or in the calm they feel in my arms. It’s the beauty of the quiet, distant moments with my wife when all the world seems miles away. It’s as plain or as magnificent as the simplicity of walking outside from a crowded place, full of hustle and bustle, into a dark evening where the sound of the silent snow falling is deafening, and beckons my mind to visit dozens of warm memories that just seconds before, were miles from view. Content. Happy with how things are, in any moment, or in all moments.

We have so much to be thankful for. Every moment there is something. Sometimes it’s the moment itself to be thankful for. I mean think about how life would be if we stopped more often, throughout each day, even for a second, to be thankful for something in our lives. Maybe it is a physical thing, or maybe it’s a moment today, that we didn’t have the day before. I think life would be far more rewarding than it already it is. I think we would proceed differently, slightly at first. As time and our commitment to genuine thankfulness wore on, the course would be dramatically altered. I can’t imagine that overall respect for one another as human beings wouldn’t improve. I would like to think that gratification could return to being a word that stands alone and no longer had to tag along with the word instant. Hey I know changing the course dramatically seems far-fetched, I just don’t think that being more thankful is that far-fetched. Neither is the time it would take to be more thankful. A conscious thought to allow for a moment to recognize a feeling of joy or content for something already present in your life. We spend more time trying to remember the name of a song than we do being present and thankful for just one of the many things we have to be thankful for.

Say thank you more often. Mean it. Look inside yourself and check to see just how thankful you are. Once you have identified how much gratitude you feel, let it be seen in your eyes, heard in your voice, and felt in your hug or handshake. If you cannot find the level of gratitude that should be present, then think on it some more and figure out what mental block is keeping you from gratitude. Get over the block and express gratitude or celebrate divine goodness, but don’t dismiss it.

I know, it’s late, but Happy Thanksgiving in my own words.