The day started brilliantly fine and warm, one of those days that are so rare in Dunedin in June that you make sure that you get out and enjoy every second of warmth. James had a rugby game at 10am against the top of the table team and (as assistant coach) I was a bit nervous as we had heard that they had a couple of 'giants' and that they were a bit rough. I needn't have been nervous, they were a good side and had a couple of tall boys, but they weren't the ones doing all the attacking. It was an excellent game of rugby. Our boys played out of their skins and James played his best game yet. He is growing in confidence slowly and I am loving seeing every little bit of progress. Despite loosing 70-35, I was so proud of the boys that a little tear welled up in my eye at full time.
The afternoon was a lunch with old friends that I hadn't seen for ages and we dined and talked the afternoon away with the french doors open and a tui eating off a bird feeder little more than 1.5 metres away from the end of the table. Emma played with the other children and James sat quietly reading one of his new books. It was a perfect afternoon; relaxed, warm and stimulating.
We headed to the test match early, only to be confronted by an accident within a block of the ground. A taxi van was parked across the road and as the crowd parted we saw a pair of legs prone underneath the rare of the van. The poor guy had clearly been run over and I could fully empathise with him. We could hear the sirens in the distance so we moved James and his cousin (Cameron) on. Michael and Deb (Carleen's sister) both asked me if it had brought back memories or emotions from my own accident, but strangely it didn't stir anything inside.
Once inside the ground you could feel the excitement building. The crowd was bubbling with anticipation. James was much more alert than any other game we had been to at Carisbrook. We discussed various aspects of what was going on around us and the hour between when we arrived and kick off just melted away. We both proudly belted out the national anthem (tears streaming down my cheek as always with the national anthem). The ABs performed their new haka to a rousing applause that the game was underway.
The first half of the game was a bit of an arm wrestle and there were lots of mistakes, but I didn't care! I was their with my little boy and we were loving every moment. He asked lots of questions and sang at the top of his voice when all of the celebration songs came on when either team scored. It was awesome. Just after half time James got a bit tired and decided to sit on my knee and cuddle down under a blanket. He still watched the game and continued to talk to me about what was going on. When the game sparked to life with wave after wave of attack by the All Blacks, James jumped up and then when the Mexican wave started speeding round he joined in like he was an old pro at this kind of event.
The game finished and James was standing on his seat applauding. He leaned over and said, "Daddy, the All Blacks are my new favourite team. I haven't seen a team score more than 40 points before." The post match celebrations continued with the arrival and departure of a helicopter and a fire works display. "That was awesome Daddy, I wish Emma was here."
At this point I realised I was the luckiest man alive. So luck to be alive at all. So lucky to have the opportunity to be with my son at this moment special community celebration. So lucky to be bonding with the son that I may have never been around to meet with. I had a warm glow inside that I had never experienced before and it felt great.
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