I have spoken about “someone always has it worse” and every now and then, something will happen that will show me how very true that is but this event has rocked me. South Jersey can be small and Salem County even smaller. The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is cut down to three or four at most. The ice hockey community is the same way. Spending hours in the rinks allows you to form bonds with families that will often change after the seasons are over but will also often last a lifetime. Since my kids were hockey players and I grew up in Washington Township, many of those hours were spent in the Hollydell Rink. New friendships were formed and I had the honor of watching some amazing kids grow up. One of those kids was Johnny Gaudreau or as he came to be known, Johnny Hockey. Fast forward, I sat in the stands of Nationwide Arena in 2023 and happily told Mark all about the Jersey boys on the ice…..Johnny and Eric Robinson (another player whose family entered my life because of my Hollydell years). In addition, I taught in Salem County (one town over from where the Gaudreau Family lived) and I watched the boys become Hometown Heroes. A title that was well deserved. They gave back to the community. They happily interacted with people and posed for pictures when asked. Kids eyes would light up when they were in the company of the boys. The biggest thing was that they were just boys from Salem County and they were HOME. But now for the true reason for this post………almost every second of the day right now, I think about the Gaudreau Family. The absolute pain that Guy and Jane are going through due to the loss of their amazing sons. The absolute pain that Kristen and Katie are going through due to the loss of their amazing brothers. The absolute pain that Meredith and Madeline are going through due to the loss of their amazing husbands. The senseless loss of two men who had unbelievable futures ahead of them. The loss at a time when the family was supposed to be celebrating Katie’s wedding. In a NY minute…….. But with all this pain, I have watched this family demonstrate such strength and grace that it humbles me. Young widows who are just thankful for what they had and vowing to take care of each other and their babies. This family has had to wrap their heads around something that is beyond understanding and they have had to do that with the world watching. I struggled to do this and my loss was not all over the media. I’m not sure how I want to describe how I feel about this but I guess the way to put it is this has knocked me down a peg or two. I mourned for myself because I lost a man who I had in my life for 30 years and it took me years to be able to appreciate what I had had instead of grieve for what I wasn’t go to have. Here are these young women speaking so strongly within days of their loss. I mourned for my children when Jeff passed away and now I see three babies who have lost their Daddies and can’t even understand it. It all breaks my heart. And now, when I “slip”, I will think of Meredith and Madeline in order to pull my shit together and remember to be grateful for what I had and let go of what I will not! God Bless the Gaudreau Family. God Bless Johnny and Matty. Even Heaven needs hockey!!!

And in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” The Gaudreau family has shown how tall they can stand…..together!!!