If you know Brenda at all, you know that she is a night owl (unlike her cousin who is known to be up before 5 a.m.) so I wasn’t sure if’ ‘getting a cup of coffee downtown’ would be enough to entice her to get out of bed and be ready to roll by 9:30 a.m. To Brenda’s credit, this trip she has been up for just about anything. Without hesitation she said, “Yeah. That sounds good!” So yesterday morning, as we got ready to go my husband says, “Why are you guys going downtown? We’ve got lots of coffee here…”

I could have killed him.

I quickly had to blabber on about the sights and sounds of downtown that Brenda must see on a Saturday morning. And we quickly made an exit.

Cam (from Continuing Care Transportation) took us the ‘scenic route’ so that Brenda could see the city and also, so she could finally see the Saddledome (from afar.) While driving by, Cam suggested we jump out and take a quick peek. Brenda and I both agreed that this was a dandy idea. We pulled right up to the doors, Cam stopped the van and turned it off. This is when we told Brenda that she would see the boys skate… (VIDEO)

Blake Heynen (Community Relations, Calgary Flames) met us at the door. It was Blake who made all the arrangements on their end and I am so grateful for his help (thanks Blake!!)

He gave Brenda a bit of history about the building and took us to her seats. Of course, we were also met by Tracy from Global (thanks Tracy) and the Flames TV camera crew. It was while talking to Kristin Hallett that she was asked if she would want to go down to the dressing room to meet the boys.

(Video of Surprise)

Then we headed downstairs, behind-the-scenes. It was there that Brenda had her first experience with a media scrum. For anyone who hasn’t seen one, it’s pretty amazing to watch media grill coaches/players on game day. Then came the moment of truth: the dressing room.

She was greeted by Curtis Glencross and Mark Giordano, who first presented her with a signed Al MacInnis jersey (might as well go back to Cape Breton now!) and an official Calgary Flames jersey. They then invited her back to meet the rest of the boys who wanted to meet her and sign the jersey.

They fussed over Brenda and took time to talk to her, wishing her happy birthday but also thanking her for coming. We got a huge kick out Dennis Wideman who asked if she was the girl from the blog and then said: “How are you, you made it down. “That’s awesome, it’s good to meet you. Happy birthday, wow!”

The guys didn’t rush her, they spent time chatting and continued to thank her. After meeting practically everyone, we headed out where Harvey surprised her with cake. She did a few interviews and we headed back to the Ed Whalen Media Lounge, where she enjoyed a piece of cake.

After all was said and done, Brenda said that this was the best cup of coffee ever. But as we left the Saddledome, we decided it would be cruel to make her wait any longer for coffee (if you know Brenda, you know she loves her coffee!) so we stopped at Starbucks (another first) so she could enjoy a grande 🙂

As a close friend and cousin, my heart was full watching her interact with the boys and to see the joy on her face. Knowing her loyalty and love for this team and these players, there’s no one else who deserved this experience more than her. And it took many people to make it happen.

To Cam & Continuing Care Transportation: thank you for just being awesome. For picking us up and carting us around and for sharing in all the excitement. We couldn’t have asked for better people to be a part of this 🙂

To Coach Hartley: thanks for taking the time to visit with Brenda and for the kind words. (VIDEO)

So it’s really hard to put to words (and news stories get edited due to my tears…) but my sincere thanks to everyone at the Flames who made this day so special. From letting Brenda watch the skate, to meeting the guys and hanging out in the dressing room, to having Harvey present her with a cake, to the ‘Flood History’ that Blake gave us while walking Brenda around behind-the-scenes. Simply put: you guys are the best. And as Brenda said, this is the reason she’s been a Flames fan for so lon thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thanks to Flames TV, Global (especially Tracy) & the Calgary Sun for sharing this story with everyone and helping us thank those involved. 🙂

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