It’s 3:00pm here in Toulouse and I’m supposed to be at the last Hockey Folie session before the kids’ Winter Vacation. Instead, I’m in my apartment frustrated and severely disappointed. For towards the end of my hour-long commute from the center of the city out to the Gymnase de la Ramée I received a phone call from my roommate, Pierre. He was frantic as he asked me if I knew the whereabouts of his car keys. My first thought was, “absolutely not.” But checking my gym bag to confirm my initial belief, I found that I did in fact know where his keys were–in my hand. Apparently, when leaving the house today my anticipation blinded me from noticing that I grabbed his car keys instead of my own house keys, leaving him without a way to get back to work. Because this was my fault, and Pierre has a famously uncompromising boss, I had no choice but to return home in order to give him his keys back. Fortunately, thanks to Thibault, Hockline’s always helpful coach, HF is still going on today and our participants will have their fill of hockey for the week. Unfortunately, I am not there.
Feeling as down as I do right now about missing the last practice, I realize how much the kids and this program have come to mean to me. Of course, I had an idea before today that I look forward to the moment each week when the kids run into the rink, really excited and ready to put on their skates. But not until today did I understand how profound of satisfaction and enjoyment I get each week from sharing what I can with the participants and being a part of their progression as hockey players. (The above picture might give you an idea of why/what I’m missing. Sad.)
If there’s any consolation for my disappointment right now, it’s knowing that I still have time left to enjoy with the participants and also just being thankful to have had this truly incredible opportunity.
