Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Humble Pie and Beer

Due to the lackluster performance of The Toronto Maple Leafs last night (they lost 7-3) I am forced to eat my words. In previous posts I claimed they did not lose (or, at least came out of a game with a point) when I attended their games. I was there last night. Crap. So much for my offer to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to be a mascot for their home games. Oh, well. The big-wigs never took me up on the offer. Perhaps that’s why The Leafs lost. And don’t shake your head at this suggestion. Superstition and crazy thinking are huge factors in the world of sports.

On the plus side, the evening was a success in terms of a Stewart family outing. I learned a lot about my boys. Specifically, how much beer they can drink and still remain standing and coherent. (Wow, they serve big plastic cups of beer at the game.) I also learned that while my eldest still gets carded when ordering beer, my 19 year old doesn’t. These are things a mother really doesn’t want to know.

Lots of laughs and goofing off going downtown to the game — five of us stuffed in one car. Despite being the smallest, I did not get stuck sitting on “the hump” in the middle of the back seat. The boys graciously insisted that Mom get the front passenger seat. Gone are the days when I sat in the back and refereed between two squirmy, rough-housing little boys.

Conversation on the way to the game.

Me. “I know you’re all going to be drinking beer. Who will be the designated driver on the way home?”

Silence from the back seat.

Husband pipes up. “I’ll be driving home.”

(This definitive response comes in that macho head of the household tone of voice.)

Me. “Are you going to be drinking?”

Husband. “Just one.”

Me. “Just one? As in, one of those gallon-sized servings that is the equivalent of three beers?”

Husband. “Yup.”

Some laughter and snickers from the back seat. (They love to listen to their parents go one-on-one.)

Me. “I don’t think so. And if you’re all pissed, here’s a scary thought. I’ll be driving home.”

(This is a scary thought because while I would be the only sober one of the bunch, my night driving vision is shot to hell.)

More guffaws from the back seat as to my driving skills, the number of pedestrians I might nudge and the length of time it would take to get home while I navigated the back routes.

Ha-ha-ha. I won. My husband had one (relatively) small “cup” of beer, a large coffee and was completely sober when the painful-to-watch game was over. This is an example of nagging at its finest.

At one point in the evening, my husband and I were walking behind the boys, watching them laugh and talk together. They are all young men now — although I still see them as my “little boys” in my mind. We are so proud of them. We did something right.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's been one of the perks of having a third driver that can't (legally) drink yet. He is ALWAYS the designated driver when we all go out so now hub and I can both have a couple and one for the road.

Watching my boys interacting and getting along is one of the sweetest things **sigh**.

Sorry about the game.

Slimbolala said...

Well, at least you can chalk up one victory for the evening.

Anonymous said...

trish - it's wonderful when they grow up to be friends - not that my refereeing days are entirely over.


slimbolala - thanks for the comment. And yeah, one out of two ain't bad.
The blogging world is amazing. How did you ever come across my blog???

oreneta said...

Yeah, I love those kinds of conversations with my husband, all done with tongue in cheek and a twinkle in the eye. Too bad about the Leafs.

Anonymous said...

oreneta - lots and lots of those conversations after all these years...
Re: the Leafs - the season is not over! (But thanks for your sympathy.)

Slimbotest said...

Beth, blog-hopping. From "Booklust" maybe? I can't remember.

Anonymous said...

slimbolala - From Booklust - yeah, that would make sense. She has a great blog.