There are really, really wonderful people in this world 
.
This entry is about the kindness of one of them
.
About a month ago (give or take a little.....it was after our return from our Christmas trip), the boys and I were downstairs watching TV together one evening: a basketball game, to be specific (but knowing my sports-loving guys, you had probably already guessed that). Jake had just nicely returned a few days before from a bus trip to Cleveland where he had watched his beloved Toronto Raptors get shamed by the amazing Lebron James and his Cavalier teammates. Even though Toronto lost, he was still oozing about how much fun it was to watch “his” team play in another team’s venue.....there’s just something very fun about having the chance to watch one of your home teams compete outside of your local stadiums and arenas. We reminisced about how much fun it was to watch the Raps play in Orlando back at Christmas 2012, and how we had wished that the scheduled would have allowed us to do so again on our most recent vacation (but sadly, this year Toronto was nowhere near Orlando on the dates that we were there). They casually inquired if I had thought to check and see if the Toronto Blue Jays were scheduled to be in Tampa on any days of our April trip, and I laughed.....what were the chances of that? It was unlikely, at best......and besides, with Sunshine now joining us in April and our dollar on a massive and consistent slide, tickets for four wouldn’t be in our budget anyway. The conversation eventually turned elsewhere and the original question was forgotten.
A few days later, Steve and I were enjoying a relaxing evening by the fireplace.....he was fiddling on his tablet, and I was surfing the net on my laptop. That discussion popped into my head, and I thought, what the heck....let’s check the game schedule and rule that out (so that when Jake asked again....and I knew he would!...I could assure him that it was a non-issue anyway). A couple of clicks of the keyboard, and I had the Jays 2016 game schedule on the screen.
No. Way 
. We fly in on the 24th of April, and fly home on May 3rd. So you can imagine my shock when I see that the Blue Jays are slated to play in Tampa for a three game road trip spanning April 29th, April 30th, and May 1st.
What are the chances of that? 
Steve and I discussed it at length.....it almost seemed like fate! Yet, our budget was being stretched by adding both Jake and Sunshine to the plans for this vacation (remember, this was originally supposed to be a couples trip after our big family affair at Christmastime). We knew we had extra dining costs to account for, Jake’s airfare to factor in, and Universal passes for the two kids yet to buy. Every nightly newscast was preaching gloom and doom for the value of our dollar and predicting a steady decline, possibly to the low 60-cent range, without any foreshadowing of a recovery until sometime in late 2017. It really felt irresponsible, financially-speaking, to buy the tickets. But yet, it seemed to be a total shame to miss an opportunity that really did seem like it involved more than just good timing on our part.
I lamented the conundrum to a few folks who I knew would understand our dilemma: I bent my mom’s ear. I discussed it here on the Dis (lots of other Canadians are also feeling our exchange rate pain, so I knew there’d be LOTS of understanding on the boards). I chatted about it to some friends. After endless debate with the boys over many nightly dinners, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we should probably just take a pass. It was the responsible thing to do.
Then, we had the most generous offer extended to us by a friend: knowing about the game, and all the considerations which were keeping us from splurging on the extra event for our vacation, she reached out to us and said she wanted to gift the tickets to our family. I was flattered, flabbergasted, and speechless all at the same time. Let’s just say that I’m not very accustomed to being the recipient of that kind of random, undeserved, unexpected generosity. All three of us were so touched and our hearts so warmed by the incredible offer, but we couldn’t possibly accept......and that’s what I told her.
This friend and I talked often in the days after that.....she truly wanted us to accept her offer. I was way too overwhelmed to accept. My momma raised me to live life by the
“Tis better to give than to receive” philosophy, and this was so far outside of my comfort zone that I wasn’t sure how to process it. We had some very thought provoking discussions, though, where she reminded me that sometimes people need to learn to be good receivers as well as good givers. I began to really sense that this was something that she really, truly wanted to do for us.
With the most grateful hearts, we eventually accepted her very kind, very wonderful, very awesome gift. It still overwhelms me....it overwhelms all of us, for that matter
. I hope she reads this entry and can know how truly appreciative we all are. Her friendship alone has been such a blessing to me.......these tickets are just a happy bonus.
So......our non-park event for Saturday, April 30th is taking us out of Orlando on a little road trip!
We’ll be sporting our finest fan wear and cheering on our beloved Blue Jays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg as they face the Tampa Bay rays at 6:10 pm
. Our seats are simply
amazing .... Fieldside box, smack dab between the Jays dugout and the bull pen. I swear the only way we could be closer to the action is if we were asked to stand in for Josh Donaldson at third base.
Jake informs me the other day
.....”Now mom, don’t be insulted by this, because I don’t mean anything bad by it at all. I know you have some awesome things planned for our trip, and I am looking forward to them all....but you know what I’m most excited for? The Jays game in Tampa. I seriously cannot wait!”.
Jake and Steve have authentic player jerseys that they will be happily sporting on game day. I have bought new Jays t-shirts for myself and Sunshine (matching, because we’re hokey like that!
) and co-ordinating bandanas for our hair in a perfect Blue Jays blue colour.
I love the fact that our T’s are Canadian red, while the guys will be in the official Jays blue. Sunshine was so excited when she saw my purchases, she literally squealed right out loud
. (An amusing aside....her dad, who is a HUGE Jays fan, is simply dying know she is going to a Jays game while we’re in Orlando. I think he almost passed out when he heard the news 
).
We hope to check out the ray tank located in the outfield (its apparently a joint venture between the Florida Aquarium and the Tampa Bay Rays.....we can even feed them for a small fee!) and of course, since we’ve never visited the Gulf region before, we’ll probably leave early in the day so we can stop at one of the beaches while we’re in town. Of course, weather will be a factor in those plans so we’ll watch and finalize the day’s itinerary a little closer to game day.
Sunshine, artsy gal that she is, is already planning to adorn our cheeks with little red maple leafs and Blue Jays temporary tattoos. Jake is about to experience a sporting event with a decidedly female influence for the very first time. I have always been “one of the guys” when it comes to our family’s sports pursuits, but Sunshine.....she’s all girl. This is going to be a fun change!
To the very amazing lady who is making this all possible.....
Know that we will pay forward your kindness. I’m not yet sure how, or when, or for whom, but the moment will come
.
Thank you, from all of us
.
, but just to fill some space while waiting for Gina to get settled, A+ and I welcomed a new addition to our household yesterday:
