Mighty Ducks 3
I remember the day we went to see Mighty Ducks 3 like it was yesterday. MD3 doesn’t seem like a memorable movie to many but you got us tickets to see it in previews in Manhattan. At the age of 11, I was seeing a movie preview of an Emilio Estevez and Joshua Jackson flick. That was enough cool points to hold me for a while.
After the movie, which was not nearly as good as D2, you and Mom spontaneously decided that we should get tickets to a show. We headed over to TKTS and purchased tickets to The Cocoanuts. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed to this totally fun show. As natural planners, this day of spontaneous fun felt wild and crazy. I loved it.
Later in life, you and Mom started planning Saturdays and Sundays in the city with 1 Ranger game and 1 Broadway show, which you called double headers. Everybody was so impressed with your stamina and energy for these jam packed days of fun.
These days of back to back fun are the days that create memories for the ages. Living in the moment and seizing an opportunity to keep having a good time is the best reward and relief for the people who usually plan everything out. It reminds me to not always focus on where I need to be next and instead open my eyes to the possibility that something fun, exciting, and unknown may be around the corner.
One of the harder parts of losing you is swimming in this ocean of amazing memories. You weren’t the Dad who came home from work, cracked a beer and sat in a recliner. You weren’t the husband who anchored on a weekly date night at a local restaurant. You saw shows and games and movies. You planned parties, attended parties and hosted parties. You kept score at Little League games, filmed school projects and went to our concerts. So now that you are gone, I don’t just see you in the house with a beer. I see you everywhere because you loved to be everywhere.
I think they say that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. I’ll say for you that it is better to have lived and lost than to never have lived at all. You were so good at living Dad. That’s why it is so unbelievable that you are not living anymore.
