Dear Hockey:

Dear Hockey,

I am missing you a real lot right now. Let me re-phrase that, we are missing you a whole lot right now.
As 2020 is ending, it is still surreal and unbelievable that our hockey season has been lost. Right about now we would be in our holiday tournaments and gearing up for both OMHA and LLFHL playdowns.
Besides the absolute obvious, here are some of the things I have missed the most…
• The late-night car rides home with my ’05. Now that he is in his mid-teens he has started to open up and talk some more (like real conversations), these conversations have made the drive feel like it was our time together (he is way too cool to hang with me when I am not his chauffeur)
• Dryland with my ’09 , I always find this so much fun and humorous , the personalities of the younger girls are so much more fun than the seriousness of the older boys.
• Followed by our dressing room dance parties 😊
• Arena poutine…yes, I said it, the expensive, really not good for you arena poutine, you can never go wrong with a poutine after all – Pickering, you are still my fav!
• Wearing my UGGs (I know, I know I have spoken of my Uggs in pervious posts, but these babies are my go to hockey boots), and being in quarantine and now lockdown there has been no use for them
• Team Christmas parties. I love the annual team Christmas parties. Its always nice to see people in regular clothes without big bulky jackets, and the kids without helmets and in a different element. I love watching the kids with their gifts, and even the speeches by coaches. I always feel so blessed to be a part of this and our hockey family
• The sound of freshly sharpened skates on the fresh ice – I.LOVE.THIS.SOUND.
• The most beautiful look in the world – a fresh clean sheet of ice, there is nothing better! And, waiting for my 2 x goalies in their white masks with their team logos on it to lead their teams out to the cheers of the crowd, and their speaker intro’s
• Routine. My ’05 has a crazy pre-game routine that always makes my giggle. Watching him prepare for success warms my heart
• The actual game itself, I mean come on this is what I live for as not just a goalie mom but as a hockey mom. I love listening to the crowd, the cheering, the clapping, the parents yelling out my kid’s names after they make an awesome save, and cheering for beautiful goals scored by our team
• Followed by a big W, those final seconds and then the sound of the buzzer, and our teams rushing to crowd and hug my goalies, and watch them bask in those few moments
• Nerves, is it weird I miss feeling nervous?! I really do! I miss those seconds leading up to a penalty shot as the shooter takes their spot, and my goalies tapping their posts getting set. I miss a 2-1 lead with 2 mins left and my body swaying back and forth and my hands holding up the collar of my jacket over my mouth. I miss going into the semis / finals of a tournament with the hour before of just sitting in solitude thinking and praying for my goalies to have a wonderful game
• Jerseys. I miss their beautiful and expensive game jerseys and garment bags. I always love after the laundry is done placing both the home and away jerseys in their bags and the sense of pride I feel
• The hustle and bustle of tossing bags in the car, grabbing toques and mitts and green apples, rushing to change out of my work clothes and into a Roots tracksuit and heading out in time to be at the rink well ahead of arrival time
• Just general hockey parent conversations. I miss people. I miss these conversations
• My normal managerial tasks. I love planning out the parties, and team events and meals. Attending the scheduling meetings, team meetings, and even prepping game sheets 😊
• O.M.G…..TOURNAMENTS! I could not miss this anymore than I do. Our hotel dance parties in the evening, our cocktails, our early morning rink arrivals all bundled up, playing hallway euchre, watching the kids hit the waterslides, visiting new arenas, competition, team meals, hotel breakfasts, grabbing our Tims coffees and hot chocolates, and just the general bonding and comradery of every kid, parent, and sibling. But, what do I miss most of all…..that would be the obvious, seeing my children do what they love, watching their passion, their excitement their strength, their resiliency, and their goaltender bravery.
Covid 19, you may have taken away our “regular” season, but you have not taken away our love of hockey or our desire to be at the cold rink. Our passion for the best game on Earth remains. We will be back, and we know there will still be so many more memories to be made!
Dear hockey, I miss you…

“I love everything about hockey” – Wayne Gretzky