What happens after the gift-giving

One Christmas many years ago, my wife and I struggled on what to get her parents. We wanted to give them something that showed our appreciation for being so kind to us throughout a busy year. We were starting to run out of time. I would ask my wife if she thought of something, she would ask me if I had come up with anything. Finally in a moment of desperation, I came up with the perfect gift.

My wife would get two tickets for her mother and her to see the musical My Secret Garden at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. and I would get two tickets for her dad and I to watch the Washington Capitals Hockey Team. (He was not a big fan of musical theater while she was. It seemed like it met both their needs.)

Oh, we were so pleased with ourselves. We were geniuses. I was so proud of my problem solving skills. I danced and thrust my arms in the air in our apartment. You would have thought that I had just earned a spot in Mensa or received a Nobel Prize in Science. I was the man.

You da man, you da man

We were certain of no take-backs. But, of course, I forgot one key challenge: The Northeast U.S. and the crazy month of January.

When the big weekend approached, a huge nor’easter shut down much of the East Coast. Depending on where you lived, the nor’easter dropped a foot to two feet of snow. We could still use the Metro to get around Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia. However, her parents traveling from Pennsylvania were stuck. The snow covered roads posed too big of a challenge to overcome.

We considered trying to resell the tickets, but we didn’t like our chances on short notice. We would have taken a bath. We could have eaten them, meaning just chalk it up to a loss, but we were young and didn’t have a lot of money. It felt wrong. Instead, my wife and I decided to make it a different kind of Double Header. We would celebrate with a matinee full of spring flowers and a night of bruising hockey.

Ying and yang

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett tells the story of Mary Lennox, a young orphan who is sent to live with her uncle in a gloomy English manor. Lonely and neglected, Mary discovers a neglected garden hidden within the estate’s grounds.

I watched the stage as Mary starts out the story as angry and defiant, but over time she grows and discovers new friends and adventures in the garden. She begins to find her place and helps a friend. A few hours later, I watched as the Washington Caps players were angry and defiant too, pushing the other team against the boards and trying to get their sticks on the puck.

Oh, it was a fun, but very strange day indeed.

Rolling with the punches

The experience taught me the value of being flexible. We wanted perfect. Life, though, doesn’t work that way. Sometimes we have to make the best of a crazy situation.

I would warn anyone, though. When two hockey players drop their gloves and start to face off in the corner like they’re going to fight, please don’t yell out “Bravo, Bravo.” You’ll get some strange looks.