“Camden Beaupre,” said the announcer in a booming voice.

You stepped onto the ice at UNH’s Whittemore Center in your red hockey shirt and sneakers, shook hands with the Oyster River High School hockey team captains and got in line to watch the rest of your teammates.

It was an exciting night.

Your Durham/Jackson’s Landing team had been invited to the game, and everyone took advantage of the opportunity. How often do you get to stand in the epicenter of Wildcat Country?

After everyone had been introduced, there was a group photo.  Everyone was having fun and getting into the moment.

You thought it was cool because you knew Casey, one of the players on the High School team.  He’s playing Varsity as a Freshman defenseman.

I think your favorite part was moving your feet on the ice… you kept doing this over and over again.  Fortunately, you didn’t take a nose dive!

You are a man in constant motion. Always.

ZOWEEEE!

You marched into our kitchen and gave me this drawing – I was blown away!

If I looked at this drawing not knowing who created it, I would guess possibly an adult, certainly a teenager, maybe a child 9 or 10 years old.

A  six year old?  Never!

thanks for Tiny Dancer (Elton John song).  I love it – will keep it forever.

Casey was playing his first varsity high school hockey game (as a freshman) at UNH’s Whittemore Center, so your Dad and I took you and Ainsley to watch.

It was pretty late, and a school night… you and your sister were tired going into it. We had the place to ourselves… high school hockey games don’t draw a huge crowd. The first half was pretty boring… you were pokey and logey and laying around.

At intermission, I brought you up for snacks.  You wanted cotton candy and a drink. And popcorn.  So did Ainsley.  I bought one cotton candy for you to split.

You quickly dove into the big portions.

I kept telling you (so did your Dad) “If you’re full, stop eating.”  but there was no stopping the ravenous machine.  Soon Ainsley said, “I want my own cotton candy.”  Being the Papa Bear that I am (it’s not easy saying no to you guys), I bought another.

Ten minutes or so into the second half, the C&A dynamic duo came back to life.

ZIP! ENERGY! SPUNK! were now flowing in your bloodstreams.  Soon you were in the empty row behind us, running back and forth, carrying on, getting loud and being crazy.

The snacks had revitalized, and you were having fun… w-i-d-e-awake.

As the mayhem reached its zenith, it was time to go.  It was nearly 8:30 pm (past your bedtime) and your Dad was taking you home.  You were revved-up at a time when you should have been shifting into a lower gear.

Blame it on the Papa Bear who brought you back to life and then got a kick out of watching you run around and having fun.

We’re only kids a VERY short while… cotton candy is magical on the tongue…. and laughter will always beat the crap out of zombie rest.

It takes time to learn, overcome nervousness, get used to something new, make progress and figure things out. Case in point, your budding hockey career at the age of six.

In my last blog (December 10) I mentioned how you’ve come so far already since your earliest hockey days. I wanted to follow up and tell you about your debut and share photos of the moment you + hockey joined forces.

Always eager to introduce you to the sport (the only major sport he didn’t play as a kid or in high school), your Dad made a skating rink in your backyard in Somersworth. The Clickman’s were invited over; Ben joined you on the ice.

In January, 2008, your Dad put your first pair of hockey skates on your feet, brought you outside and you got to experience what  a thin blade of steel feels like beneath your feet for a brief, shining moment.  You tried to stand up with your Dad’s help – here’s a photo!

Only two years and 3 months old, it was probably a confusing debut as thoughts rushed through your head like  “Do people actually stand on these things? Why’s my Dad’s not wearing skates? He’s got sneakers on!  Gimme my boots!!!”

The seeds of persistence you showed three years later (headline of my last blog) were planted on this cold January day by a loving Dad who had a vision of your future.  Who knows, maybe someday you’ll play varsity on a high school hockey team, wouldn’t that be cool?

That’s a long way off, so for now just keep doing what you’re doing, trying hard, learning, improving and never, ever giving up.

Merry Christmas Camden!

Christmas Day at my house was lots of fun. You came over late morning and stayed the day.  After opening lots of presents and stockings, I announced we would be having a surprise scavenger hunt…. I gave Ben the instructions and he read them aloud.

The object of the game was to go into eight different rooms and find one white envelope in each.  Inside each envelope were letters… each one spelling a word. Put the words together in the proper sequence…. and an exciting message would emerge.

As usual, the three Musketeers were critical players in the whole grand expedition,  with Ainsley and Molly doing their thing along the way.

After lots of running around and craziness, you all returned to the Great Room and figured out the puzzle.  Here’s what it spelled:

Whooo- hooo!

We’re going to Disney World!

Even though your family went just last year, you were VERY excited we’ll be doing it again… this time all 13 of us!

presents for the kids

Before Christmas, I got in touch with St. Charles Children’s Home in Rochester, NH, inquiring what the kids might need for gifts under the tree.

Three specific items were requested… two pairs of sneakers and a Patriot’s blanket.  I promised to get them there before Christmas.

The next day I got in touch with your Mom & Dad and asked if you might want to wrap one of the presents and join me, Ben & Emma when I brought them to the Home. You decided to join our little posse.

When I picked you up at your house, we were alone on the ride to the Clickman’s.  I asked you if you knew what an orphanage is and you answered, “Yes, it’s a place where kids live who don’t have any parents.”

I said, “That’s right… how do  you know that?”  You replied, “My Daddy told me.”

“Did you guys talk about it?”

“Yes.”

I pressed for more detail: “Do you know the name of this orphanage
we’re going to?”

You paused. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw your expression.

“I don’t want to talk about it any more.”

I was stunned by this response… really surprised.  So I probed again… “What do you mean Camden? You don’t want to know the name?”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore because it makes me so sad I want to cry.”

How precious is that?

You’ve come out with some funny material over the years Mr. C.  Here are a few of them:

Shortly before Zoey joined your family, you & your Mom were talking about getting a dog. Your Mom said, under her breath (she thought) “We can’t get a dog until Macy croaks.” Of course, you heard this and responded:

“We can dead her by hitting her and then we can step on her to smoosh her and then we can get a dog, of course.”

The good news is you got your dog, and Macy, the senior pet of the household, is still alive and kicking.

I like this one:

“I did get in trouble once at school, but I don’t want to talk about it.” 

About Starbursts, the tart chewy candy you and your Dad love:

“These things are terrific!”

This one’s a classic:

“When I am a teenager, I am not going to go in any time outs.”

Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense:

“I think this orange juice is gonna be gone when I’m a teenager!”

There’s always something brewing in that brilliant brain of yours…

You’re already a hockey boy.

Grammy and I watched you for an hour and a half at Jackson’s Landing in Durham and were blown away with the progress you’ve made in such a short time.  It’s only been a month, but already you have incredible balance, can move around with purpose and understand the game basics.

Watching this progress made me recall an earlier moment.  When you were three at your old house, your Dad had enthusiasstically flooded the backyard to make a skating rink…hoping you’d get the hang of skating.  He was hoping you’d like to play hockey someday.  The experiment didn’t work out very well… you were still too little.

Flash forward three years (a doubling of your lifetime!), it was so cool seeing your Daddy’s future hope become a reality.

But what stuck in my mind on this Camden hockey day wasn’t your evolution as much as your hunger, persistence and enthusiasm.

You really wanted to be out there… couldn’t wait.  The coach gave your team many  challenging tasks.. push this mini tire forward with your hockey stick… skate/walk across five hockey sticks … crash to your belly on the ice and go under a bridge.  You did each exercise with gusto… real gusto.  And every time, you got better.  The first time you tried walking over those sticks you were all over the ice!  But by the fourth time, you did it!

During the aggressive scrimmage (with boys twice your size in some cases) your hockey stick jammed your stomach and you fell to the ice and play stopped. You cried very discreetly… your Dad went out to see you and it wasn’t clear if you were done for the day or would somehow go on.  I wasn’t surprised when you sucked it up and got right back into the scrimmage.  That’s what I mean by persistence, hunger and enthusiasm… and competitiveness!

After the practice ended, your teammates left the ice.  But knowing Grammy and I were still watching, you stayed on the ice and skated around several times.  You wanted us to see what you could do.

You’re a competitor Mr. C, and you will go places in this world.  I’m proud of you!

Mr. Hockey going through drills at Jackson's landing