More Dad’s Daycare

This past Friday was Veteran’s Day, with proper respect and thanks going out to all veterans.

It also meant no school, which doesn’t apply to us, but in certain ways, it does because not only are many of our activities tied to the school, but many of the kid’s friends are, as well. With this in mind, with no school, parents are faced with the conundrum of what to do with the kids while they are at work. Enter stay at home dad, who seems to be the go-to guy in a pinch.

I don’t mind watching certain kids, especially when they are really good kids, and when they are buddies with our kids. Plus, in this instance, it is obviously clear that the parental units are acutely aware of not taking advantage of the situation. With this in mind, we made a day of it. The kid’s friends, A&I, came over for the day, and we actually had a lot of fun. Again, they’re great kids, low maintenance and not demanding of things like TV and sweets.

The plan was to go ice skating and then do the open stick, which N and I wanted to try now that he’s a hockey machine and I’m an aspiring hockey dad. The problem was whether the other kids, A,A&I were going to be able to sit through us playing hockey, but that was not a problem.

The kids spent the morning playing in their own way, and again, they’re very creative and don’t rely on TV or video games, which is good because we have neither. I made them a snack, and planned on getting pizza after skating. For the record, there was an amazing amount of stuff to bring with us with four kids and an adult for ice skating and then hockey. Young kids need to wear full equipment, and the kids all had skates, winter clothes, hats and gloves.

I even had to tie the sticks to the roof rack because they wouldn't fit in the car. The things you do to get to the ice, I'll tell you. Anyway, we headed over to the rink and I for one was surprised at how quiet it was. I figured with the holiday, more people would show up, but it was slow. No biggie, more room for us to skate. We saw our long lost friends MT and their kids. Big changes in their lives, but no need to elaborate on that.

We skated for about an hour, and then it was open stick time. I think N was excited to show off a bit for the ladies in his life, and he did a great job. There were about 10 people on the ice, and all of them good skaters with the exception of me. Correction, I can skate, I just can’t play hockey. At some point the other adult on the ice, who was clearly a hockey player, suggested that we play a little four on four, and I was pensive because I’d never played before, but also didn’t want to be the wet blanket. So we went for it.

Boy, I’ll tell you one thing, hockey is a lot tougher than it looks. More on this later, but the kids did a great job. The other father really encouraged the young kids to give it their all, and there were two teenage boys who skated circles around the rest of us. They were so good, and again, really nice about including the younger kids. I spent most of the time on my behind. N looked great out there.

After the game, I was beat. Hard work out there on the ice. We went for pizza, and then had some time for the kids to hang out and play. The idea of a sleepover came up, but I told them that we had too many things to do and it wasn’t an option. They understood, begrudgingly. What choice did they have?

It was nice day, taxing for the one parent watching over things, but the kids are very self-sufficient and with the exception of meals, can take care of themselves. Absolutely no regrets on this end.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Julia Freeman-Woolpert for the pic.