Sweet Caroline (Corey Crawford)

Merry Little Christmas

Caroline

I hand out all the presents I had to the guys before flying back to Montreal for Christmas. My dad and I were originally going to celebrate the holiday in Chicago, but since I was born we always found our way back home for Christmas.

We touch down in Canada Christmas Eve and as Christmas tradition has it we go our to find a real tree to decorate. After getting a nice sized tree we retreat back home to set it up and decorate.

We set it by the fireplace and get it in the stand. We add some lights and decorations and ornaments to it and it finally looked like a Christmas tree.

"Here is our angel" my dad says handing me the beautiful angel. We always say it's my mom because it looked like her and she was our guardian angel. I stand up on the chair and put her at the top. I step down and stand back so I can see it all. My dad wraps his hands around my chest and I smile big.

"We did pretty good" he admits.

"Yeah, we did" I agree.

We decide to make our holiday card and set up a camera. We take a few pictures and a few silly ones just for us. I upload them to the computer and edit them so I could print them and send them off.

As Christmas Eve comes to a end we make some hot chocolate and grab a pair of skates. We go out to the ice rink in the backyard and turn the lights on. It was freshly finished and ready for us to enjoy like we have every year since I could remember.

We go out there and start to skate around. We cap off Christmas Eve like we have for so many years before.

"I've been thinking a lot lately" my dad starts.

"About what" I wonder.

"About hockey" he claims.

"You miss it" I say and he smiles.

"Is it that obvious" he asks.

"Yeah. I know you miss me but you have been down a lot lately. You miss the game" I explain.

"I do. And the Avs have been begging me to come back" he claims.

"You should do it" I say and he raises a eyebrow at me.

"You think so" he asks.

"Yeah. You loved playing and you were the smartest goalie ever. You were the backbone of every team you were on and you can continue to do that as a coach. People will listen to you, I think you would be a great idea" I admit.

"I know this is your thing now and I don't want to step on your toes" he claims.

"I want you to be happy. It's going to suck that I can't see you all the time but I felt like this is where I need to be and if you feel like you need to be in Colorado then that is where you should be" I insist.

"Would you think about coming to work there, I can get you a job" he says and I stop skating.

"I don't know" I admit.

"You really like it in Chicago huh" he asks.

"I do. I mean the guys on that team, they're incredible. I see it every night, those core guys with Crawford, they're going to be really good for a really long time. I want to be there for that, I can see it in them. They're so much more than that one cup they won. They're a good team who is designed for great things. I would love more than anything to work with you, but I belong in Chicago. I know I do" I insist.

"It's okay. I get it. Just like I knew I couldn't stay in Montreal you know you can't leave Chicago" he says.

"I hope you know it is my dream to coach with you" I tell him.

"You really want to coach with your old man" he asks.

"Hell yeah, it would be a lot of fun. We would probably get tired of each other but for at least a little while we would have a lot of fun like we used to" I admit.

"I would never get tired of you" he smiles and I laugh.

"Sure" I shake my head.

We finish up skating and we go to bed. I wake up early Christmas morning and look out the window. I see it was snowing here in Montreal and that made me happy.

I skip down stairs and find my dad by the fireplace. There was a bunch of gifts under the tree and I laugh.

"What did you do" I ask and he hands me a cup of coffee.

"I'm just really proud of you and I wanted to show you" he claims and I shake my head.

"You know how much I hate when you hand me things" I insist.

"I know... just like your mother. And I used to fret buying things for you guys, but now I just buy it for you anyway" he claims and I laugh.

I open my presents and thank my dad every time. I give him his present and he loved it. It was the puck that knocked me out because he always made fun of me for that. I also got him some Blackhawks stuff and other things from Chicago.

We start to pack up and I see there was still one present under the tree.

"Who is that for" I ask pointing to it.

"It's yours" my dad claims.

"I thought you said you gave me all your gifts" I say.

"I did" he smiles.

I go over and grab the package. I see my name on the front and Corey's under it. I smile as I turn back to my dad. He gives me a wink before going to change for the day. I open the present and see a picture in a frame. It was him and me and emery and Waite all on the ice. It had the word family on it and honestly it was the cutest thing ever. I set it to the side and see a Crawford jersey in there and laugh. There was also some popcorn because that's all I eat and a gift card to Panera.

At the very bottom there was a note and I pick it up. The smile is stuck in my face as I try to read his terrible handwriting.

"Dear Caroline,
I don't know where to begin with you. You are such a blessing in my life and words can't begin to explain how much you mean to me. I know you don't want anything for Christmas and certainly wouldn't ask for anything but I had to make a effort to show you how much you've impacted my life. So I decided to kind of make a care package, but this one is to show how much I care about you.

The picture is from one of my favorite memories. That was the day we did the shootout and you told everyone my weakness and almost everyone scored on me and I didn't know why. I was pissed but then I saw you with Waite laughing and I knew it was you. You said that the most valuable things in my life were not material but were memories, and you couldn't be more right. I'll forever remember this moment as one of my favorites.

The jersey is because all you have is your dads and I figured you needed another goalie jersey. A lot of people don't wear mine because I'm not Jonny or Patrick but I know you would do me justice. Maybe make it look really good and someone else would want it too.

The popcorn is for when you end up watching four movies in a row because you lost track of time. And the Panera is because you eat there all the time but you're still this small little thing. I love that you always get the same thing when we eat lunch there, gives me something I can be assure of in my life.

This Christmas I wanted take a look back and see how I got here. And I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So thanks for staying after practice and helping me or letting me come over and bother you when I'm bored. I wrote this letter a hundred times and I finally think I got what I wanted to say down on paper. So merry Christmas Caroline, I hope the day is as beautiful as you.
Much love, Crawford."