Go Hawks!

Yesterday was a very long day that grew irritatingly longer when I got to work and discovered that the substitute teacher who was supposed to teach our group piano classes did not show up. So the classes turned into a frantic improvisation of activities.... which, by the way never really engages four-year-old boys to the point that they inevitably wind up turning into dinosaurs and Power Rangers in the middle of the classroom, all the while ignoring my pleas for their attention. And this exhausts me, which is why I am always ready with a carefully-thought-out lesson whenever it is my turn to teach the group classes. I was sooooo looking forward to going home and knitting the entire night, until I got a text from M, "I got free hockey tickets and none of my friends can go with me... will you come?" UGH was my reaction, and my dreams of "knit, purl, knit purl..." fizzled into oblivion. My next thought was "When does hockey season end?!!" He frequently gets hockey tickets from his boss, which is very nice; but from where we typically sit, I can't even see the puck, so it wasn't exactly the first, second, or even third, thing I wanted to do after a long day and a long week. BUT.... when we got to United Center, we found that this time our tickets were in the fourth row; five seats away from the players!! We were so close we could see our reflection in the glass and the bruises on the players' faces from getting into fights. Now, that kind of experience I can really get into! I enjoyed the entire game, even though they lost 5-3. Michael, of course, had a fantastic time; (he carefully guards a secret enthusiasm for the Blackhawks despite his resolute allegience to the Red Wings.) My favorite part was watching the desperate middle-aged women, dressed to the nines, who no doubt paid more than $200 to sit right behind the players. And I can't really blame them- hockey players are the studliest of any athletes, in my humble opinion. Especially Patrick Sharp, (who didn't play last night because he is injure.)