so the saga is over and now i have a story to tell. you remember last year both boys tried out for the AAA summer hockey league? in the end, little j made his team and big j did not. it sucked. ha.

well, this year little j got notice that the coaches from the 2002 team want him to play for them without even trying out. he's pretty excited. he will play with 6 of his former teammates from last year and one of his buds from mitchell has also been added to the team. his team should be tough this year, they cut the roster and his coaches are bent on winning. good or bad, it's going to be an aggressive little team. fortunately, little j was designed for aggressive. he should do just fine.

on the other hand, big j was torn about trying out again. he told me it "broke his heart last year" but in the end he decided to give it another go. i was a nervous wreck! it's hard to see your kid get rejected (twice) but i really prayed about it and knew that God had control of the situation; that He knows much better than i do what is right for big j.

so the day of the try outs he was not at his best. he really hung back and analyzed things, it's a part of his personality i'm sure will keep him from doing stupid things as a teenager (this is a hope i cling to) but it doesn't serve well when coaches give you 45 minutes to prove yourself as a hockey player. he didn't do bad, he just didn't stand out or shine the way he sometimes does in a game.

the husband and i left knowing in our hearts the chances were slim. there were a lot of kids out there, and only a few positions to fill since the 2001 coach already had most of his team put together.

big j, on the other hand, came home and immediately checked my email to find out if he made it. i told him it would be a week. i also told him not to get his hopes up. i continued to pray that God would use the situation for good. i did not pray that big j would make the team--i figured that was out of the question, and deep inside i wondered if would be right for him. the team is like little j's--very aggressive, full of hot shots and the coaches really push the kids to win. it is AAA, after all, i don't blame them.

so a couple days before they announce the roster, the husband gets a call. because of the larger number of kids at the try outs, they were thinking of having two teams and had a roster all put together. would the husband be interested in coaching the second team? by the way, big j is on the roster and so is one of his best friends.

are you kidding? is the sky blue?

we didn't tell big j, or anyone, until the whole thing became official. i was afraid things would fall through, but it's real. big j got to read the email that said "Congratulations. You are on the 2001 team" and he is excited, of course. he'll be playing for his dad, which will make him feel more comfortable. the team won't be quite as aggressive as the original team (since they took all the biggest hot shots first) so i think he'll feel comfortable on the team as well.

thank you God for showing me (again) that you always have a better plan, and that your stories have better endings than any i could ever dream up.

and yes, go solar bears :)