5) Christmas ritual

James and his father are on their way to the park, dressed up warm and equipped with snow shovels and the soccer ball.

“So, your interview went well?” James asks, trying to sound enthusiastic. His mom had already told him that the interview was successful and that his father was very happy about it.

„Es lief SEHR gut,“ antwortet Jens zufrieden. „Und weißt du was? Wir haben sogar über Fußball gesprochen.“

“You talked about soccer?”

„Ja. Der Chef hat erzählt, dass sein Sohn auch Fußball spielt – in der Schulmannschaft. Das Team soll sehr gut sein.“

“Oh, yeah?”

„Die Mannschaft spielt in einer höheren Liga. Hast du dir das nicht immer gewünscht?“

“I guess …” James replies reluctantly. Of course, he has always wanted to play in a better team. The one he’s on right now is terrible and they play on a very low level.

„Kopf hoch, James.“ Jens klopft seinem Sohn auf die Schulter. „Toronto wird dir gefallen, da bin ich ganz sicher.“

“And my friends?”

„Du wirst neue Freunde finden.“

James nods. His mom had said the same thing, but James doesn’t want to think about that now. They‘ve reached the park and start making their way toward the soccer field. 

„Na? Triffst du das Tor von hier aus?“, fragt Jens herausfordernd.

“Sure.” James sticks his shovel into the snow and kicks the ball. It lands right between the two goalposts and sinks into the snow.

„Super“, lobt Jens seinen Sohn. „Und jetzt schaufeln wir uns den Weg frei.“

“Same rules as always?” James asks.

„Natürlich. Wer zuerst da ist, bekommt den Ball. Bist du bereit?“

“Yup.” James takes his shovel and puts himself into a starting position, ready to dig his way through the snow.

Jens folgt dem Beispiel seines Sohnes. Er nimmt den Schneeschieber in beide Hände und beginnt zu zählen: „Eins, zwei … Los geht’s!“

James and his father start digging their way through to the goal. It’s their yearly Christmas ritual. While his mother and grandmother spend the day at home, doing the Christmas preparations for the big family gathering next week, he and his father go into the park and play soccer in the snow.

„Schau mal“, ruft Jens und zeigt zu dem Eishockey-Feld auf der anderen Seite des Parks. „Sind das nicht deine Freunde Jonas und Peter? Sie sehen zu uns herüber. Vielleicht möchten sie mitspielen.“

“I doubt that.” James looks towards the ice-rink and waves at his friends. “They think we’re nuts.”

„Verrückt?”, fragt Jens ironisch und lacht. „Warum? Ist ein Fußballspiel im Schnee nicht normal?“

“Maybe if you live on the North Pole,” he replies sarcastically. Then he smiles and starts digging again. He doesn’t care what his friends say as long as he’s having fun.