Bela Blog

A Golden Day...

Wow! What can I say? The Canadians sure know how to throw a party! Our daily adventure began Sunday without much planning, but with lots of enthusiasm. I packed up Cammi's oldest son, Riley(3) and my daughter Brooke, 10, a Bela girl for sure, and we headed towards Canada Place. As we pushed the jogger/stroller towards all the action, we saw various street performers, but the coolest ones were painted Gold, Silver, and Bronze, representing the three colors of Olympic medals (SEE PHOTO). As the weather got warmer the crowds got thicker and we eventually took our coats off to celebrate the first sunny day at these games.
We decided to test our luck and try to find where Cammi (Mommy) goes to work every day. We followed the big white dome. Before we knew it, we were standing at the Media Entrance security gate. I sent Cam a text and she came down to see us! She wasn't that surprised that her big sis had sniffed out the right place and taken a chance. Soon Jeremy Roenick walked by, then Mike "Doc" Emerick and we all had fun swapping family updates, cell-phone pictures and hockey memories. Cammi couldn't stay long, but I think we all made each other's day as the Olympics seemed to be staring back at us in a whole new way: family fun!
I couldn't help but think of the Women's Team USA families and players as they prepared for their first game vs China. My perspective is so different this time around, without a sibling competing. Just a few days ago Cammi lent her umbrella stroller to former teammate Julie Chu's family! Cam wanted "Chewey's" sister Christina to get around town with ease. Ahh...the sisterhood of the traveling strollers! I remember hanging out with Christina in Salt Lake City, where our sisters won Silver together! Hockey is family, and it truly bonds people for life, especially during the best and the worst of times! I miss being a part of the gut-wrenching games that Cammi played in, especially at the 1998 and 2002 Olympics! The nice thing is, I am a spectator, a tourist, a visitor, just like much of the world, here in Vancouver. It's so relaxing!
On the way back to Cammi and Ray's downtown pad, we stopped to give a security guard two slices of much-appreciated pizza. He was chatting with a woman who was a two-time Olympian in Alpine skiing, Nancy Holland of Quebec! She lives in the neighborhood. Riley told her that his Mom has two medals, one Bronze and one Silver..."GOLD" I kept whispering. Did it really matter? As we stopped in front of Cam's home, Christian Erhoff of the Vancouver Canucks arrived home after a road loss. He lives two doors down. We wished him luck on Team Germany. Perhaps we experienced the perfect ending to a perfect day. Just then, people on nearby balconies shouted "We won, we won, Canada got it's first GOLD medal!" The city streets erupted with hoots and hollers, honking horns and "Whoooooooos"! Freestyle mogul skier Alexandre Bilodreau had captured Canada's first GOLD medal in a home Olympics! Perfection! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...stay tuned!