Caleb learned the hard way this past weekend that sometimes you lose- even if you gave your best effort... and he wasn't even the one giving the effort.
Andrew had a hockey tournament all last week and the entire family attended every game. Caleb LOVES to watch hockey- especially if his big brother is playing. The first three games went really well and Andrew's team won all of them. By the time the fourth one came last Friday night, we were all in a hockey fervor (the Olympic hockey we were watching at home during the same period of time fed right into it). Just 2 wins more and Andrew's team would play the final game on the ice of the area's minor league team. A big deal.
With that said, Andrew's team was playing to win.
The problem?
The other team was playing to win too.
Friday's hockey game was a riveting one. Tensions in the stands were high, and Caleb picked up on that. He knew this game was important. He cheered loudly and constantly for his brother and his team (which was so sweet to watch!). In the third period with only seconds to go, Andrew's team was down one goal. People all around us were cheering wildly for Andrew's team to take a shot. Andrew was playing defense and defended a shot taken on his team's goal. With three seconds left on the clock, one of the boys on Andrew's team took charge of the puck and raced down the ice to take a shot. The stands erupted. The shot was taken and the puck started to cross the line. The clock's buzzer blared. We were left not knowing if the goal counted. If it counted, the game would go into overtime. We waited for the ref's call.
"No goal", I heard a grandpa behind me say.
"It's over. They lost.", Dennis said flatly.
I turned to get Caleb and the girls ready to go, and that's when it happened.
Caleb's sweet little face slowly scrunched up into a huge pout as he absorbed the reality. And then he began to wail.
I asked him why he was crying and he sobbed, "because they lost... Andrew lost".
Poor guy. The tears were streaming down his face and he could not be consoled.
The Zamboni finally came out and that helped a little, but Caleb continued to pout.
As soon as Andrew came out of the locker room, Caleb started to cry all over again. He ran up to Andrew and through his tears said, "I'm sorry you lost Andrew".
Andrew's reaction was precious... he scooped his little brother up in a big hug and said, "It's O.K., buddy, I can't always win" (Dennis told me later that Andrew had been pretty upset in the locker room, so for him to pull it together like that for his little brother made us both proud :0).
And with that, Caleb's world was set right again.
He was a little sad 2 days later when Team U.S.A. lost the hockey game to Canada in overtime, but after just a few minutes, Caleb said, "Don't worry, Mommy. They played a good game".
That's right, buddy. And that's what really matters.
