Thursday, June 07, 2012

Tales of a Modern Day Hockey Mom!

I don’t make it to every game and if there is a Starbucks somewhere nearby (within a mile), I will go out of my way to pick one up before the game…and….I don’t bring a blow horn to cheer the team on.

I’m a wife and mother of 3, and while one child is on the ice playing hockey… my remaining 2 kids are hanging out with me – rink rats!  We always travel with some sort of bag full of goodies…from crafts to dinky cars to miscellaneous toys - we never leave our home emptied handed…and always carry a bag full of editable goodies - snacks!

The arena is always cold, and the benches even colder.  Most people bring blankets to sit on and try to keep warm – and I was one of them.  But this was the year I would change things up, it was my year to buy a new winter coat. I opted for a longer one, one that would keep me warm, or at least parts of me, warmer.  Problem solved, for me!  But….here we are…headed out the door and I still carry that darn blanket to each game. 

Most games and practices are scheduled on the weekends – which work out perfectly for us!  But once in a while, a game and/or practice will sneak up on us during the week. It was on such Thursday night that my evening was a blur.  The kids had already arrived home and enjoying a break after school.  After a busy day at the office - I came flying home to get everything going…Just to put things into perspective, we needed to be dressed and on the ice at 6pm, in an arena 45 mins away.  I knew we needed extra time before hand to get Eddie laced up and ready for the game.   

But there one was thing we needed to do before we could take off - Eat!  Yes, Dinner! We stopped along the way to grab what should have been “fast food”….only to find ourselves waiting for 20 minutes before we actually got to sit down and eat.  

It was at this point I accepted defeat and stopped looking my watch.  I knew we were going to be late, just how late was the question.  I decided that whatever happens – happens.  My kids are still young, and dinner time never goes as planned …2 bathroom breaks, a runny nose, and pop spill. 

By the time we were done, it was 5:50…We had 10 minutes to get to a place that was realistically 30 minutes away, and still needed to dress for the game.  I knew right then and there that this wasn’t happening.  I gave my son a big hug, explained what had happened.  He was pretty cool with it - As cool as he could be and had told me that I had already been forgiven. 

Our trip wasn’t a complete bust – We stopped at the Starbucks across the street – and all had a special treat on our way home.