A Day 13 Years in the Making...

It was an early fall day back in 1999 and Dad was in the process of wooing mom.

The budding couple was driving back from Creemore on a Sunday afternoon and they needed to make one stop before heading downtown.

That stop was at a hockey rink.

At this point in time, Dad (at 25) had already been coaching the York Mills Ranger Select hockey team for 2 years, spending upwards of 100 nights a year in a rink with the kids.

The trip that day was to mark the start of the 99-00 season.

It was a try-out practice and Dad was required on the ice, so mom was going to try her best to stay out of the way. So she brought a book with her and took a seat in the corner of the bleachers.

Mom didn’t get through 2 paragraphs before she heard a gregarious voice calling her name. Of course, that voice belonged to the one and only David Garard (aka Uncle Dave).

Dave had interrupted the practice to skate over to the corner of the rink, reach over the glass to shake mom’s hand, introduce himself and welcome her to the York Mills team.

And, in that moment, history was made.

In the weeks and months that followed, mom fell in love.
With the team, the coaches, the parents, the games, the trips, and of course with Dad – whom she admired for the way he selflessly volunteered his time and how great he was with all of the kids.

And, for the record, Uncle Dave takes credit for all of it!

Mom and dad stayed with the club until the boys all graduated from high school and were off to university. And during those 6 years that followed that fateful day, the York Mills Rangers were a significant part of their lives

Mom and Dad went to all the games, practices and tournaments. They went on bus trips to places like Cleveland, Lake Placid, Ft Lauderdale and Detroit – where mom landed her first big job at Dell (thanks York Mills!)
And when mom and dad got engaged, guess where they were? In the middle of the York Mills arena hockey rink!
Moreover, the team and all of the parents even threw mom and dad an amazing engagement party.

And mom was even given her own jersey :)

So, you can see why Mom and Dad were thrilled when this email arrived…

And now our York Mills story continues.

“Coach E” now has a son of his own and, 13 years later, he is wearing his own York Mills jersey.

And I really do love to play the game.

The "York Mills circle" was completed tonight when some very special visitors came to the rink.

David, Nancy, and Mike came all dressed up in their York Mills gear and were on the glass cheering for #3 (that’s me, of course!)

It meant so much to Mom, Dad and I to have them there – mom was nearly in tears. And if any of our extended York Mills family are reading this, mom promises to do her best to keep everyone up-to-date on this next York Mills chapter in our lives.

And finally, we want to dedicate this blog entry to Kevin Brillinger and Glen Sora (both seen in the photo below with Dad and Uncle Dave). They both left us too soon and we miss them dearly. 

I know they would have happily been at the rink with us tonight.