![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/hockey_23-2-300x158.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I lost and found my son this weekend on the ice<\/p>\n
He was there, and then\u2026. he skated into a corner away from sight<\/p>\n
I imagined him in the middle of a scrum of bodies and sticks \u2013 eyes locked on the puck<\/p>\n
Somehow he looks bigger as he wheels around the net, glances past the crease and backhands a pass to his waiting teammate<\/p>\n
It is his ease of movement that makes me search for the answers I don\u2019t really want to reflect on \u2013 just, how did he grow up so fast? And what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
I blink. He\u2019s gone\u2026 then I focus to see that he has gathered in the puck from his opponent\u2019s blade and has nudged it forward;<\/p>\n
He spins off his back leg and begins a deliberate, looping stride towards the side boards, flicks the puck against the boards and accelerates over the blue line<\/p>\n
It seems he carries the puck in slow motion,<\/p>\n
Yet I realize that this game is really in fast-forward <\/em><\/p>\n He\u2019s skating too fast, as there\u2019s no stopping his advance<\/p>\n So, I need to ask these questions:<\/p>\n In five years \u2013 will he get the shot off \u2013 and find his mark?<\/p>\n In ten years, which arena might I find this young man?<\/p>\n I study his moves. I need to burn it all into my memory.<\/p>\n With a burst of energy he cuts around a player, and with shoulder down, stickhandles neatly beyond two defenders and swings in towards the goal \u2013 mere seconds of ice time capturing years of development<\/p>\n A whistle, some yelling from the bench and pounding music from the arena\u2019s PA system<\/p>\n He circles around to line up for the faceoff \u2013 what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n University courses; wedding receptions; a first day at a new job?<\/p>\n He sets for the drop of the puck \u2013 and I\u2019m processing a whirl of freeze-frames:<\/p>\n tugging his sweater on overtop of his shoulder and elbow pads<\/p>\n tightening his laces and clicking the snaps of his helmet<\/p>\n my parting locker room words of endearment: \u201cSkate hard every shift. Have fun.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n then after, his tired, satisfied smile; that smell of sweat from soaked mats of hair<\/p>\n and the car rides to and from the arena; and those questions that start with<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDad\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Peering through the glass, I\u2019m witness to this game, yet unable to be part of it<\/p>\n I watch his boyhood in flashes now \u2013 with our family turning on his every blade stroke<\/p>\n He\u2019s reaching forward, stick extended, body twisted \u2013 anticipating a pass<\/p>\n And I\u2019m anxious with hopes and aspirations for his future happiness\u2026<\/p>\n In another instant, he\u2019s stride for stride, leaning in against another body, locked\u00a0in a match of force and determination<\/p>\n Yet, I remember vividly those precious moments when I held him in my hands, and ran around the house carrying him piggyback<\/p>\n There\u2019s another whistle, he twirls on one skate, right in front of me, and skates away towards the bench \u2013 it\u2019s him, yes, I see it is, but only after focusing on our name on the back of the jersey.<\/p>\n There are times I see my own breath rise in the cold of the arena, and our reality is caught up in a few seconds of blurred colours, sticks, a puck \u2013 and my son<\/p>\n He\u2019s turning and digs in to push off, the puck dances on his stick in front of him, and he darts ahead to open ice, sure of himself and where he must skate<\/p>\n On the ice, he\u2019s always enjoying the moment, yet I see that he\u2019s stretching, honing skills<\/p>\n He circles, glides with one leg lifted in front of him, lifts his head towards me and grins<\/p>\n I stare upward; the game clock is going too fast for us at this rink. I don\u2019t want to avert my eyes \u2013 there is only so much time to etch these glimpses of our lives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n — Chris George\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I lost and found my son this weekend on the ice He was there, and then\u2026. he skated into a corner away from sight I imagined him in the middle of a scrum of bodies and sticks \u2013 eyes locked on the puck Somehow he looks bigger as he wheels around the net, glances past…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[53,80],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2938"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10321,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2938\/revisions\/10321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}