This is a hockey post… simply because I have hockey angst on the brain. I work it out best on “paper.” Yesterday we had 3 games… I left after Zach’s game was done to bring the younger three home and get them to bed. It was already past their bedtime. Sanj didn’t get home with the older 3 till after 10 p.m.Sanj looked at the schedule last night before getting into bed and I heard him groan. Tonight we have 4 games… back to back. This means that all the boys play. Here’s the break down of after school:
Tyler- football practice
Jordan- volleyball practice
(I have a 5 o’clock meeting about the play ground equipment that must be done)
6 p.m. Zachary’s hockey game starts and then it goes on till Sammy’s game is done… at whatever time.
I am pretty sure Sanj could hear the panic in my voice last night. He said it wasn’t going to be like this yet all season, he wasn’t sure what was going on. It’s a school night. When we had hockey all day Saturday, it was better as it was the weekend. Sanj would do the hockey thing and I was the go-for… you know, go for lunch or go for groceries or go for entertaining Josh.
I am not a sports fan. I can’ lie. I don’t hate it. Yet, I don’t see the need for it. Why do grown men chasing after a ball or puck get paid such ridiculous amounts of money? Why are they role models when so many can’t speak properly or did not finish school?
That is the joke … to have 6 sons that love sports… live and breathe it… what was God thinking? Maybe, obviously, He has quite a sense of humor.
I will be there first to encourage sports though. An example is I think it is healthy for a Canadian boy to know and understand the basics of the sport of hockey. They don’t have to love it, like it or play it forever… just know the basics. This allows them to be able to follow conversation as they get older, play a little occasionally if they want etc. It allows them to be socially normal if they have been exposed. (Of course… disclaimer here… These are just MY thoughts… not saying if you or your kid does not play hockey that they are not normal…).
I see the boys friends, especially the older two boys, whose friends were never exposed to sports at all… really struggle. Even if it dad and son on skates, playing around, they will be a certain level of comfort with the stick and puck.
(Again a disclaimer here… every kid is different… so there is exceptions to everything… I know).
I am losing my thoughts… but I was just saying that it is important to expose your children to things… even if you do not like it… i.e. sports.
I was talking about hockey… about my lack of interest in sports. There are 2 kinds of hockey moms… well actually I would say three…
There is the true hockey mom: you know the kind… that live at the arenas, they are the trainers on the team, they are yelling plays along with the coach, they are loud and really almost on the ice themselves. They see their kid crash into the boards and don’t blink… “Get up… let’s go!!!” They dress for the sport… they are usual in sweat suits that have some hockey logo on. Their hair is prepped as if they are going to play themselves. I am pretty sure some of them have a jock on too, just in case. They make scarfs to the team moms to wear in the team colors. (Seriously, people… you have way to much time!!!)
Then there is the hockey mom: she is dressed for the elements, sits out in the cold, always has her blanket and coffee mug. She knows every kid’s name just by their number. (This always AMAZES me)! Sometimes she has a team roster so she can check who is who if she is not sure. She knows what off sides means, checking, top shelf, she knows exactly why # 2 got that penalty. She is in the know and she is in the game.
(Just for the record, the hockey mom is the kind of mom I really am aspiring to be… well some days).
Then there is me… who is called a hockey mom because I have 5 boys that play hockey. I go to hockey, usually because Sanj can’t make it to two games at once. I go to hockey (this is really the dirty truth) because I want my boys to know I was there, watching… if I am going to be there, I WANT THEM TO KNOW! I want them to know that I really do care, since it is important to them. They only way they are going to know is if the SEE me… so I make sure they SEE me! 🙂
- I am usual not dressed for the rink weather. I am always freezing and always surprised that it is so cold. Usually I have flip flops on or shoes that didn’t require socks. Or I want to look cute.
- I am always thinking of how this rink needs an extreme makeover. Rinks (at least in Peterborough) are gross and ugly. I hold the urge to go bathroom as they are so gross. You may be better off NOT washing your hands in there.
- Usually if you see me there, I have a book. I can’t lie, I really don’t care how your kid is playing. I am just there to see my kid, when it is his shift. I love it when I am sitting beside a friend who knows this about me and will give me the heads up that my kid is on ice.
- I never understand when I hear a parent upset that they missed seeing their kid’s goal… and what will they tell their kid? Of course all of us, including me, want to see that prized moment when your child is responsible for a goal, for that beautiful sound of the buzzer that screams, “GOAL!!!!” Yet, hello, there are times when it is OK to stretch the truth. Really! Hockey is one of those times. If your kid says, “Did you see my goal?” You respond, “It was beautiful!” I usually will add, “I loved the top shelf!” Then they will be pleased or they will be pleased to correct me that it wasn’t a top shelf but rather a ……. (I don’t know another lingo that would fit here).
- Hockey rinks are places that parents watch their kid on the ice and not their 3 other kids that are running around crazy. So you can feel free to let your other kid run wild too. Usually the real hockey parents are out in the cold watching the game.
- Always have change. Always. The rinks have great french fries. This is another perk of going. 25 cents buys a hand full of jelly beans for Josh and also 10 minutes of no complaining when it is over.
- I hate hockey chatter with other parents. Usually they are so condescending. The other day I arrived at the rink literally seconds to see Zach on the ice. Then the buzzer rang signaling the end of the game. I looked at someone and said, “What color is our team?” (It was the first game). A parent looked at me and laughed. “Oh, I thought you were kidding.” No… person with 2 kids…. I am not. I don’t know all the jersey colors of my kids yet. I am not kidding.
The other annoying thing is the comments… EVERYONE HAS A COMMENT! I have heard them all… your is not funny or unique. Haha! “Oh my gosh, I don’t know how you do it. We can barely handle one (or two or three) playing. How do you do it?”
Anyway, all this been said, I will say that I love the enthusiasm that my boys have for hockey. I love that they have a dad that is equally enthusiast and spares me going to every game. I love that my boys get me… they know I love them. They know that I don’t love sports. They understand the fine balance.
So… Tonight it’s Hockey Night in the Sukumaran house hold! Go Teams Go!
*** Yes, this picture is of me… “playing” hockey with my pink hockey stick, I asked for Christmas one year. lol I think I scored on Sammy after taking him out! 🙂