In a matter of a few short months we have become a hockey family. This was not a dream of ours, but rather it started when Blake asked if he could play hockey with a few of his friends. At first we said no. This was met with dramatic upset and a clear true desire to try hockey...the likes of which we had never seen from one of our children.
So over the last few months, Blake has donned the full hockey gear each Saturday morning to skate for an hour. And I might add, he is LOVING it. I would venture to say it is his favorite hour of the week. For this, we are grateful and we are proud of ourselves for reconsidering our initial "no" and allowing him to play.
That said, let me explain what it means to be a "hockey family." Saturdays are planned around hockey. We eat lunch at around 10:45 - our first lunch that is. Then we get Blake into his hockey gear, which is a reasonably large undertaking. Then at around 11:30 we leave for the rink. At the rink, we add his skates, helmet and gloves which ensures full coverage from head to toe. Blake spends an hour out on the ice while whoever in the family that is there to watch shivers in the frigid temperatures of the rink. The highlight for Colin is when the zamboni man (whom he now has spoken with) comes out to clean the ice. Following the ice time, a now ritualized visit to McDonald's is in order. This serves as lunch #2, since lunch #1 was so early.
Hockey has permeated many aspects of Blake's life. He chose a Boston Bruins bear at a recent "Build-A-Bear" birthday party. His birthday cake - a hockey rink with players and goals. His most recent toy choice upon completing a sticker chart - a Maple Leaf player figurine which he adjusts into a new position each night before bed. Every day at least once he gets onto the NHL website to play the kids' games they have.
All of this, and we only have one kid playing hockey right now, and it's only the "Learn to Skate" program. We're really only a rookie hockey family. There are many who are up before dawn and out late with their kids in order to get ice time, and several times a week. That will be us should this trend continue with Blake and the other two boys. We could become a full-time hockey family during the season.
We thought it wholly appropriate when Blake began referring to Friday night as "hockey's eve."
So over the last few months, Blake has donned the full hockey gear each Saturday morning to skate for an hour. And I might add, he is LOVING it. I would venture to say it is his favorite hour of the week. For this, we are grateful and we are proud of ourselves for reconsidering our initial "no" and allowing him to play.
That said, let me explain what it means to be a "hockey family." Saturdays are planned around hockey. We eat lunch at around 10:45 - our first lunch that is. Then we get Blake into his hockey gear, which is a reasonably large undertaking. Then at around 11:30 we leave for the rink. At the rink, we add his skates, helmet and gloves which ensures full coverage from head to toe. Blake spends an hour out on the ice while whoever in the family that is there to watch shivers in the frigid temperatures of the rink. The highlight for Colin is when the zamboni man (whom he now has spoken with) comes out to clean the ice. Following the ice time, a now ritualized visit to McDonald's is in order. This serves as lunch #2, since lunch #1 was so early.
Hockey has permeated many aspects of Blake's life. He chose a Boston Bruins bear at a recent "Build-A-Bear" birthday party. His birthday cake - a hockey rink with players and goals. His most recent toy choice upon completing a sticker chart - a Maple Leaf player figurine which he adjusts into a new position each night before bed. Every day at least once he gets onto the NHL website to play the kids' games they have.
All of this, and we only have one kid playing hockey right now, and it's only the "Learn to Skate" program. We're really only a rookie hockey family. There are many who are up before dawn and out late with their kids in order to get ice time, and several times a week. That will be us should this trend continue with Blake and the other two boys. We could become a full-time hockey family during the season.
We thought it wholly appropriate when Blake began referring to Friday night as "hockey's eve."
