After Matt's appendectomy, he found himself growing more frustrated with the bad luck he was encountering. But he continued to work with Julie to maintain a good family life for their kids. Their big fight a year and a half earlier had taught them both some valuable lessons, and they had no intention of making those mistakes again.
One day in January, shortly after Lexi turned three (and Matt thirty-one), Lily called, "Dad, Landon has something to tell you!"
Landon told Matt, "It's Parent Job Day at preschool next week, and they want you to come."
Matt said, "Landon, I'd love to go!"
"Yay!" said Landon, obviously thrilled that Matt would be coming.
"But it's time for your chest therapy right about now," added Matt. "Have you taken all your medicine today?"
"Yes, I have," said Landon. "Taking medicine isn't so bad, but I hate chest therapy. It's torture."
"Yeah! Chest therapy torture!" said Lexi, who hated it as well.
"I know you don't like it," said Julie, who had just walked in, "but you need it every day to get all that yucky stuff out of your lungs so you can breathe better."
"Okay," said Landon, sitting on the couch and bracing himself for chest therapy.
***
The next week, Matt went to Parent Job Day at Landon's school, just like he had promised.
The teacher had each of Landon's friends introduce their parent. When it was Landon's turn, he walked up to the front of the classroom and said, "This is my daddy. He plays football."
Landon's classmates were all impressed.
Landon added, "He throws the ball and tries to throw a touchdown for me and my sisters. He's won two Super Bowls." Landon was only four, so he didn't quite understand what the Super Bowl was, but he knew it was really good. "My daddy is the best."
Matt looked a little embarrassed and said, "Well, I don't think-"
"And do you know why he's the best?" continued Landon. "Because he's my daddy."
"Thank you, Landon," said Matt.
***
The offseason was uneventful, just like it had previously been. Lily turned eight and Landon turned five and graduated from preschool. Lily was very happy when the hockey labor dispute was finally settled.
Matt had fully recovered from his appendectomy and hoped to wipe the slate clean yet again for the new season. A few days before the season started, Lexi came down with pneumonia. Luckily, it was a mild case and she didn't need to be hospitalized and recovered quickly.
In the first game of the season, Matt was hit by bad luck again. He took a hit from the side and suffered a knee injury. As he lay on the field, holding his knee, Lily said from the stands, "That was cheap!"
Julie said, "Lily, enough."
"But it was!" said Lily.
On the field, the trainer told Matt, "You need to go get an MRI. You may have torn a ligament."
Matt sighed and said, "You can't be serious!" But he went to the locker room and told Julie and the kids he would need to go to the hospital to get an MRI.
Julie and the kids met Matt at the hospital, where they were awaiting the MRI results. Landon said, "Daddy, we saw what happened."
"Are you okay?" asked Lily.
Matt said, "No, Lily. I think I really hurt my knee."
Lexi added, "That mean man pushed you down and hurt you." Even though Lexi hadn't really been acting like herself since she'd had pneumonia a couple weeks earlier, she was still aware of what had happened during the game.
Matt told Lexi, "Lexi, it was a good, clean, football hit."
Lily retorted, "Dad, you aren't fooling anyone. I'm only eight and even I can tell the difference between a clean hit and a cheap shot."
Julie added, "She even said as much when she first saw the injury."
Matt said, "Okay, fine. You're right, Lily. It was a cheap shot."
The doctor came in then and said, "We have the MRI results. You tore your ACL. You need surgery and your season's over."
Matt sighed and thought, Great. What else can go wrong?