The Yellow Castle is all about sports – all the time. We had a large NHL playoff bracket posted by the fireplace for the last 6 weeks with a homemade duct tape replica of the Stanley Cup on the mantle. We had a Game 7 “feast” as we watched the game and the winner of the pool – the Big Bear Cub  - was presented the Stanley Cup to hoist high overhead. We were also glued to the TV for the Raptors playoff run.

This is also the time of year when there are lots of finals in my personal life – we just had the last game of the Toad’s Mosquito baseball career and later this week his Atom hockey career will be over as well. In another week we will take the “last day of Grade 5” photo to add to the timeline of school photos.

Last night the bigger bear cubs finished their Canadian Midget hockey careers. I might have wept through warm-up and had a few tears with each goal they scored. They have picked up on my barely controlled emotions and are being even more sweet, and affectionate. They are also way more tolerant of me snapping millions of photos to capture our “finals” – even the final trip to the DQ as a hug.

I do not want to wish a single, valuable, and precious second of this season of finals away – and will work hard to stay in the moment – even the sad ones. I know that a season of firsts will cycle around again and I will savour those moments when they arrive.