Quick change artists

My bag is packed. I'm ready to go. For the fourth night in a row, when my day job ends, I'll be making the change from working professional to supportive hockey mom.

Let Superman have his phone booth. I don't need one. (Good thing, since they don't seem to make those anymore.) Give me a bench in a warming house, or the floor of a crowded dance studio office, and off come the high heels and on go the snow pants, mukluks, hat and gloves.

I'm trying to decide which is more difficult. I face this hectic craziness at the end of 10 hours of work. Jeff, meanwhile, gets the kids geared up for hockey or skating lessons (last night we threw in Sydney's dance class for an added challenge) and then waits for me at the side of the rink. We spend a couple seconds together for the unofficial passing of the baton (i.e. a quick kiss), and then he heads off to start a 10+ hour work shift.  

There's just never a dull moment.

Sydney is already learning to master this quick-change skill. Here she is at 7:30 yesterday morning, ready to head to preschool. It was "jersey day" for AJ's hockey team, so of course my newly skilled skater needed to wear her jersey too.

And here she is at 7:30 last night, after finishing dance class and then racing to make it to the second half of her brother's hockey game.

The picture I didn't take was of her bundled in snow pants and boots, sliding and rolling down the hill next to the rink to pass the time while AJ was on the ice. Don't slap a label on this child. She'll prove you wrong every time (Unless you call her stubborn. That's a pretty consistent trait.) She's happy to be the girlie girl, and equally proud to keep up with the boys. I love that about her! When I'm not totally frustrated by her quick shifts in attitude.

I also didn't take any new photos of AJ playing hockey, though he made a really pretty goal. Winter finally roared in around the lunch hour yesterday and by last night it was way too windy and cold to take off my gloves to use the camera.

Last night was a particular logistics challenge. Sydney's dance class ended at 6 p.m., the same time AJ's hockey game started at a rink 20 minutes away. Jeff managed to drop Sydney off for her lessons, then head with AJ for his game. I, meanwhile, left work and made it to pick up Sydney with 10 minutes to spare. We then bundled up and headed to watch AJ. Phew!

AJ has one more scrimmage tonight, and then our six-day hockey marathon comes to an end. I'm fairly certain we get the next three days off. Until AJ asks to go to the rink to skate. And next week's schedule appears to be calmer. Until a last-minute scrimmage is announced.

On a brighter note, the kids have barely watched TV this week. Who has time for something like that?

Making concessions

Working the concession stand at the ice rink is pretty close to my least favorite part of being a hockey mom. (Beat out only by watching my child play hockey in sub zero temperatures with a nearby fire ring set up to offer a slight hint of warmth, along with enough smoke to stink up my coat for the next week. That, I believe, is my least favorite part.) 

All the moms in our AJ's hockey league are expected to work at least three shifts throughout the season. And while it's better than the dads' responsibility of flooding the rink each week, it's still a miserably tedious experience. For me, it brings flashbacks to my illustrious career start at McDonalds, combined with way too much time to think about all the things I could be doing and cleaning in my own home that would be a better use of my time. To sum it up in two words, concession stand duty is long and it is boring.

But not for Sydney. 

Saturday, Sydney eagerly volunteered to join me in the small little room where we're surrounded by candy, cookies, chips, pop and other treats. I can't imagine why she wanted to spend her time there. She happily pulled up a stool, announcing, "This is my first day on the job!"

Jeff and AJ joined us part way through the shift, bringing me some needed healthy food from home. AJ immediately went out skating, because the two games he was playing in a tournament that day weren't enough for him. Sydney happily showed Daddy the "plus game" she'd been playing (i.e. pushing buttons on the calculator.)

Alas, Saturday was quite possibly the most boring day we could have picked to spend four hours in the concession stand. Pretty much every local hockey player was involved in a tournament elsewhere that day, which meant none of them were coming to skate here. We saw less than 10 people and made a whopping $11.50 in sales. In four hours.

To help pass the time, Sydney turned to song and dance. She will probably hate me someday for sharing this, but how can I resist?

S is for Sydney the Skater

Mother Nature tried to give us a break last night. With afternoon temperatures hitting the 40s, AJ's hockey coaches, who had already announced the evening's practice would be optional, cancelled it all together. But it wasn't quite enough to give us an evening off because Sydney's first Learn to Skate class went on as scheduled. 

She didn't get to use the white PVC bar she'd been hoping for, but suddenly it didn't matter. Put Sydney in a group setting with a "coach" giving instructions and she takes it seriously. Round and round the rink she skated, never questioning or complaining. Well, she did say the helmet was hurting her chin a little and the elbow pads were squeezing her arms, but that didn't stop her. And at least she didn't cry to go back inside, which several of the kids did.)

I'm proud and impressed with her progress. Within the first 15 minutes, she'd learned how to get up (one knee at a time) without help, and to "skate like a penguin" - pushing out with her skates as she went.

Her coach, who had her hands full with lots of first time skaters, quickly noticed which kids were using the bar as a crutch and challenged them to try skating without it.

What do you know? Look at her go! If she keeps this up, we may have a tough choice next year - hockey or dance class?

Miss Independent alternated between basking in our praise, and requesting I stop taking her picture. Jeff, meanwhile, alternated between watching her practice, and keeping an eye on AJ, who was skating with some big kids on the adjoining rink.

At one point, I asked Sydney if I should go get Daddy to watch her. She told me no. I reminded her that he'd be really proud of how good she was skating. Her face broke out in a grin as she changed her mind.

There's nothing like the promise of a hug to encourage her to skate the length of the rink to see Daddy.

As luck would have it, the letter of the week in Sydney's preschool class is "S". I printed out a photo of Sydney skating for her to show to her class. Good luck to the teacher today. I have a feeling Sydney will have lots of "S" stories to share.

Fun on the sidelines

As a kid, I remember sitting in the bleachers through plenty of my sister's gymnastics meets. And obviously I lived through it. Ditto for my brother's baseball and hockey games. I just don't remember them being as time intensive as what Sydney is now enduring as the younger sister of a hockey player.

Sydney has been a real trooper about coming to her brother's game and practices. Not that she has much choice. The hope of a concession stand visit is usually enough incentive to get her to grab her coat and hat and head out the door with as much as enthusiasm as her brother. (Let her change from her pink hat into her new black "ninja" hood, which you'll see in later photos, and it's even more exciting.)

At this past weekend's tournament, there was the added bonus of a playground on site.

Of course, chunks of snow/ice are also a great way to pass the time, as is any packed pile of snow that can be slid down. Sydney's made friends with many of the other players' siblings and enjoys running around with and recruiting them to join her snowball battles.

And then it's back to throwing more snow/ice. Note by mid-game, she was wearing my turquoise gloves because my white pair of gloves she'd started out in were completely soaked and frozen.

I guess I shouldn't be so worried about the unfairness of dragging her along. She's got snowballs, friends and a ninja hood on a sunny winter day, not to mention a candy-stocked concession stand. When you're four, those are all the ingredients you need for a pretty fun afternoon.

On a side note: Sydney may have set a record for the most lost/found incidents involving the same glove. She lost her new purple gloves last Thursday. I found them Saturday afternoon at the Esko warming house. She then apparently proceeded to lose them an hour later at the Duluth Heights warming house, something I discovered Sunday afternoon when I spotted it a pile on their lost and found table.

Hockey is life. Because how do you have time for anything else?

Consider this your advance warning. Blog posts the next few days will likely focus primarily (if not entirely) on hockey. Why? Because Saturday marked the first of six straight days of games and practices for AJ. Plus, Sydney's Learn to Skate program begins tomorrow. Throw in a concession stand shift for me, a flood night for Jeff and a game for Jeff, and I'm thinking I want a t-shirt that says "Hockey is life. Because how do you have time for anything else?"

AJ is certainly happy to demonstrate that level of commitment. Saturday morning, I woke him up by asking, "Is there a hockey player in the house?"

He instantly sat up alert, "I know! I'm so excited!"

And that's why we do it.

This weekend's games have been in Duluth Heights. As warm as it's been, I wondered if they'd have enough ice for the tournament. Turns out, the ice was fine. It was small nets that they didn't have enough of. The solution? Tip over some regular nets and tell the kids any puck that hits metal counts as a goal. (They found more nets by mid-game.)

By the way, for anyone who's used to looking for #4, AJ got a new, bigger uniform last week. He's now #12.

I lost count of how many goals/assists AJ scored. I was more impressed with the amount of passing going on between he and his teammates, not to mention his ever increasing speed and willingness to chase the puck.

Oh yeah! There's some celebration!

Maybe it's because this is taking place during a week that marks several key anniversaries in my life. (18 years since I moved to Duluth, nine years since I started my current job.) Or maybe it's because I spent four long hours "working" in the snack shack, on a day when every hockey player in town was playing elsewhere, which gave me too much time to think... but I can't help but find a deeper... something... I can't think of the right word... in these Mite 1 tournaments.

During yesterday's games, I ran into so many people I've known from previous parts of my life (i.e. before kids.) And here we all were together again, shivering around the boards, cheering for our children. There was Mike, a former WDIO photographer who I'm pretty sure shot election night live shots for me from the very same community center that was now doubling as a warming house. I also saw Jessica, a former competitor from another TV station and volleyball teammate (who's now married to one of Jeff's colleagues.) And Tony, who interned at the police department when I covered the crime beat. Ken, a current co-worker of Jeff's. Natasha, who works for one of my clients. And Jon and Jamie Jaski, who are part of our "bonus" family. Jeff's and my third date was to Jon's high school graduation party. Fast-forward almost 15 years and our oldest kids are playing hockey against each other while our second born children are teaming up to pelt Jeff with snowballs/ice chunks.

Whatever that "something" is, that's the other reason I like hockey. There's a sense of community among all those chilly, exhausted parents. I hope it doesn't disappear as our kids get older and the games get more competitive. But for now, all I have to say is, "I've got to take off, it's my turn in concessions," and I get lots of sympathetic nods. Or talk about juggling schedules to get all the kids to all the places they need to be - and get "been there, done that" knowing looks.

On a side note, when we got home from AJ's second game, the first thing he asked Jeff was, "Want to go downstairs and play hockey?" Later, they watched hockey on TV: first the Bulldogs and then the Wild.

For two more months, our lives will revolve around hockey. And as long as everyone's having healthy fun, it's all okay with me.

An offer too good to miss

In keeping with my New Year's resolution of counting my blessings and focusing on the positive, let me just say how happy I am, as an ad agency copywriter, that I don't have to write fluff/crap like this direct mail piece that came to us yesterday courtesy of the Danbury Mint. Okay, technically it was addressed to Jeff, but he was working and how could I not open an envelope marked "Attention Golden Retriever Lover"?

And boy am I glad I did. For, you see, we (Jeff) are among a limited group of customers in our area who have been selected to receive a FREE Golden Retriever Snow Globe Ornament, and it's so valuable, that it's offered for just a limited time.

Just look at that sweet puppy in the ornament. I bet he would never pull over his Christmas tree. He's too busy leaving pawprints on our hearts.

And then I looked over at our sweet puppy. He was alternating between humping a couch cushion and chewing on a handmade pillow my mom no doubt worked on for hours. 

Oh, but wait, I'm apparently looking at this all wrong. Gus isn't a monstrous brat with a chewing/attitude problem. No. He's simply a "spirited Golden Retriever."

What's more, it turns out, "Golden Retrievers are people too!"

How did I not realize that all these years? I'll be sure to apologize to Gus for misunderstanding him. Right after I smack him for amputating the legs and one arm of Sydney's new Barbie/Chelsea flower girl doll she got for Christmas. 

Wait! There's still more to tell you about these valuable keepsake ornaments. Each one "comes with a luxurious golden hanging cord for an eye-catching presentation on your tree." And... we'll also get a free box to put them in. But not just any box, an "elegant custom-made Keepsake Box". (Does capitalizing Keepsake Box make it sound more important? I guess their copywriter thinks so.)

And I love how the ornaments are shown hanging nicely in a row at the bottom of the tree. Clearly, the art director has never owned a golden retriever. Those amazingly detailed, finely crafted collector's items would be knocked down by the dog's tail in an instant!

But this is just such a great deal, I'm struggling to find the will-power to say no! Except... too bad we just took down the Christmas tree last week. This mailing was timed so well. 

Perhaps if they'd waited a couple (or 10) months... Maybe by then Gus will be "brimming with Golden Retriever charm". Maybe then I'd consider it.

But probably not. I try really hard to not reward bad marketing.

And now, I think I'll leave this lovely piece of literature on the coffee table. Let's see how long it survives before my spirited golden retriever grabs it and rips it to shreds.

Skating daredevil

Someday, my daughter will want to learn to drive. I should probably start stocking up on anti-anxiety medication right now. (For me, not her.) The thought of Sydney behind the wheel of a large vehicle that has an accelerator terrifies me. There's just something about her personality and her willingness to push herself and take risks.

I was reminded of this one recent evening when I took her skating. This was her fourth attempt on ice in the last week. The first two times were met with less than an enthusiastic response.  But then on the third visit, she discovered a piece of equipment that changed everything. Forget the boring, grey metal bar. She found a new support made of white PVC pipes. Let her push that around and suddenly she's an unstoppable force. Skating suddenly ceased to be about form, technique and grace. It's all about speed.

 

As if to re-emphasize her point, Sydney watched the video on my phone last night and proudly bragged, "I was going super fast!"

The official Learn to Skate classes start next week.  Part of me hopes the PVC bar disappears by then. If she gets to use it, I doubt she'll pay attention to the instructor. If some other child grabs it first, there will be attitude issues.

On a brighter note, it's given me an idea to perhaps dampen her enthusiasm to drive, which she could start learning to do in... gulp... eleven years. I'll just have to make sure her first car is made of boring, grey metal.