Jacob really likes watching hockey — he keeps a playoff bracket list for some immediate friends and family, he has a blast doing it, and when the playoffs are on, he wants to watch every night. So it was a no-brainer to try and get Round 3 tickets here at home. They’re not cheap and Andrea didn’t think it was worth it for her to go, so I grabbed two seats for Jacob and I high in the third deck at the visitor blueline.

Last night was game 4, Sens were up in the series 2-1, and totally dominated the previous game. But I had some logistical concerns.

Jacob is in the midst of serial casting, so he is walking with two casts on his feet. Not ideal for getting from our car to our seats. Ideally, if Andrea had been going, I probably would have dropped them close and then parked. We likely would have struggled to the car afterwards or they would have been waiting awhile, but with Andrea not going, Jacob had to walk.

Not a big deal, he gets along pretty well with them, just some extra work and no alternative other than perhaps dropping him by himself at the door for 15 minutes while I parked. Not an option, obviously. He is still only (almost) 8.

And just for fun, the right cast has started to crack. Exactly where your shoe bends when you walk, about even with the base of your toes. Not uncommon, or unexpected, but can make walking a little more hazardous or annoying, depending on how far they have cracked. Still functional, and he gets along pretty well, as I said.

I was also a bit worried about the seats — would he have enough leg room? Cuz there isn’t a lot, the casts give him about a size 11 mens boot now, and he can’t turn it very easily nor is there any bend in it. It was a bit tight in the seats, but workable.

And I was determined that it would be a “fun” night, not me worrying openly, and so I told him it would be an adventure.

Everything went fine, more or less. Seats were okay, only issue was when people stood up in front of us, so hard for the cub to see. But I made sure he focused on the screen in those situations as he could see that higher up. So he was good.

Boring game though, for a Sens fan. The Senators didn’t show up for the first two periods. And he was excited for Period 1, but by near the middle of Period 2, he was drooping with boring play and it was later too, so tired.

Early into the third period, he needed his contacts out. We weren’t near a washroom, and I didn’t want him trying to navigate too many stairs if I could avoid it, so we did it in the seat. Dropping both of them into his lap as we tried it. Found them (it helped they are blue tinted against very white Sens shirt and Sens towel), got it done.

And then it happened.

The Sens scored their first goal and Jacob was excited. Lots of hoopla, and he was “part of it”.

Then they scored their second, and he grabbed my arm SO hard. He frequently cuddles my arm when I’m sitting beside him, and this time he wrapped his whole body around it and he was shaking and rocking, super excited.

It was awesome to see. I don’t even care that the Sens lost, or the price of the tickets, or the stress with the lenses, etc. I have never seen him as excited as he was when they scored, even if I’m not entirely sure he saw all of it.

Sometimes it all goes right. Thanks cub for a great evening.