Shoveling to China

Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow, but shoveling the stuff can definitely affect your POV on the matter. I actually don’t mind shoveling, but sometimes when it’s 3 feet deep, it can be a chore. This becomes exponentially so when it’s at night in a snowstorm. This was the case a few days ago.

The problem was, and usually is, hockey. We had a busy day of hockey and had to hit the road. Our plow-man took care of the driveway, but we had to clear out the cars pronto. I went to work and got the cars cleaned up and ready, and then we were off. We spent the day on the road and didn’t get home until the evening, which is usually not a huge deal, except that our wood box was empty, and it was cold.

Since it was getting dark, I had to strap on a head lamp and shovel a path to the wood in order to get it to the house. Then I had to shovel a path to the compost bin in order to dump our overflowing compost pan. By the end of it, I was ready for a Lowenbrau.

I still love the snow, and even don’t mind the cold weather, but it might be more tolerable if the snow came down just one foot at a time.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Emma Gawen for the pic.

Parental Indentured Servitude

This past weekend was one of those that inspire awe from both ends, coming and going, and not always the good kind. When you anticipate what’s coming, you wonder how you got yourself into this predicament and that you’ll never be able to pull it off. When it’s finally over, you reflect in amazement that you came out in one piece. The kids don’t seem to mind, though they don’t have a complete grasp of the logistics, but that’s what being a kid is all about, right?

We had both kids involved in big hockey weekends, and it required lots of early mornings and busy days. N had a big tournament, and it went from Friday to Sunday. They played amazingly well and had a great time. It was a nice way to end the season, and they almost won the championship, losing the final game on Sunday. The parents came out in full force and the audience was raucous and supportive, so the kids got a huge kick out of it. They gave out trophies to the second place teams and a banner, and I know N has been itching to get a trophy since he started playing hockey. He finally got his wish.

As much as the tournament was fun, I was doing double duty on the hockey parent front. N had two games every day, and I helped out with running the tournament, as did numerous other parents. I volunteered to run the scoring the booth, one shift that required me to be there at 6:30AM! That’s the thing about tournaments, they are fun and bring in money to the program, but they require tons of volunteer work to make it happen. That’s on top of coaching duties and transporting kids.

A didn’t take part in the tournament because she is in an older division. Plus, her team has the big state championship to prepare for. The coach IC didn’t want them idle for too long before the big game, so he arranged for the team to play in Plattsburgh, NY, which is about 3 hours away and includes a ferry ride. To make it worthwhile, they nabbed a doubleheader, which meant an entire day in NY. Fortunately, they arranged a caravan to the arena.

With the first game at 10:00, that meant getting A to the meeting point at 6:00AM, which meant getting up at 4:30. A is a trooper, she gets up and ready at the drop of a hat, so there were no problems getting there. The girls were thrilled and excited, and can you blame them? An entire day hanging out with your buddies playing hockey and eating pizza, you can’t beat it. The games went well, the other team even provided pizza for the whole team in appreciation of going up there, and if that’s not enough, A’s team tied both games. What a great matchup.

After I dropped A off, I had time to kill since it was so early. N had a game at 10:00, and I was originally prepared to go home and get him, but R said she would bring him, leaving me free to, you guessed it, volunteer for the tournament. It actually worked out well because the early morning time slot is one that nobody is lining up to fill. I did the first shift on Friday and Saturday, and I didn’t mind. I was up and in the area, anyway.

Truth be told, I enjoy watching hockey, more so with our kids than the NHL, it’s just the time drain and the opportunity cost are enormous. Nonetheless, it is fun, and the kids love it, so for now, it works. Who knows where we’ll be on this issue next year.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Pookie & Schnookie for the pic.

Fitting End to the Season

This past weekend was a fitting end to the hockey season, at least for N. A’s season has one more week, where they’ll be vying for the championship. It was also a brutal weekend for mom and dad, but such is the life of hockey parents.

N was in a big tournament and it was a load of fun, if not a lot of work. A had a big game many miles away, which I couldn’t make it to, but we worked things out thanks to KG’s wizardry with organization. On Friday N started his big tourney, and it’s interesting how many parents don’t even blink an eye pulling kids out of school to play hockey. You have to admire that sort of dedication, and I know for sure the kids have no issue with it. Who wouldn’t take traveling to play hockey over school?

N’s team did quite well, going all the way to the championship game. They finally played like a team, with the younger players actually coming to life and doing their part. In the past, many of them just stood out there, but this time they were active and contributed to the game. I can’t even tell you what a difference it makes because usually it’s only 3 or 4 of five players who are playing on the ice, putting N’s team at a significant disadvantage when they play teams where all 5 players are contributing. I was telling one of the coaches that it’s like being on a penalty kill all the team. The defense is working double duty. When the younger players actually become involved, even doing things as simple as skating toward the other player, everything changes.

With this in mind, the team looked good, and as a result, they won all of the games. This tournament has been going on for 10 years, and never once has the home team gone to the championship This was the first year. They lost in the championship game, but it wasn’t that bad, because they had exceeded expectations and played well throughout. Plus, there are some good lessons to be learned from losing.

N had a great series, and I think has grown a lot as a player and a leader. It will be interesting to see him go from being a leading player to a younger player next season, but at least he’ll be reunited with many of his friends who moved up this past season. He said it was sad to see the season end, I think it’s been a good experience for him, and this was the first time I’d heard him say this. In the past it was done and over and he was ready to move on to warm weather activities. I think he sort of liked being a senior player, though his team relied heavily on him.

A also had a big hockey weekend, and it’s not over yet. She had a doubleheader up in New York, and her team formed a caravan to get up there. I couldn’t go because I was busy with the tournament back home, but the games went well, and it’s a good tune-up for their coming championship game, which will be a big one. I think she really enjoyed it because she got to spend the day away from mom and dad and with her hockey buddies, plus they got to play a couple of games and eat pizza and junk food. How can you beat that?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to heather McDonald for the pic.

Walking the Dog

We were asked to walk another friend’s dog, and it was a lot of fun. We love dogs, all of us, and it’s nice in a way walking someone else’s dog because you don’t have the daily responsibility that they include, which is basically three walks a day. Our friends walk their dog in the AM and PM, but want him to get out around noon. Usually this doesn’t seem to be a problem, but they needed assistance for a couple of days.

Their dog is so cool, we all love him. I’m not sure what kind of dog he is, but he is a pure breed, and he’s really cute. He reminds me of a cross between a Corgi and a German Shepherd. He’s spunky and feisty, but very well behaved. One thing we get a huge kick out of is how much he likes the snow, and especially loves to eat big snowballs. It’s a scream to watch.

They live in a place that’s perfect for walking dogs, a big woodsy farm, so the pup has plenty of places to run, and we can let him go off-leash. Plus, since it’s out in the woods, we don’t have to pick up after him, which is A-okay by me.

We only walked him a couple of times, but I’d do it regularly. Dogs are cool, we dig them, it’s the added responsibility that makes it hard.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jens Dahlin for the pic.

Hitting a Writing Wall

Nobody said this was going to be easy, but I didn’t really see this sort of complication coming about. I write for a parenting blog that doesn’t pay a lot but will usually take whatever I submit. In the past I wrote sparingly because I usually focused on other things, but when my financial circumstance became anemic, I figured I could just up my production for the parenting site. They tended to take most, if not all, of what I wrote. I just didn’t write a whole lot.

I started writing like crazy and my increased output just happen to coincide with all the other writers ramping up their work, as well. Now the editor has informed me that she’s inundated with material and can’t take it all. What a bummer.

Personally I think this is a test of my resolve. Someone is trying to tell me to stop looking for the quick and easy fix and get my glorious freelance career on track. I want to take the easy path, but forces are conspiring against me. Looks like I’m going to have to do something with my life.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to bernhard.grau for the pic.

Jumping Through Hoops

A week or so back we managed to have A’s best friend over for a sleepover, and it was quite the three-ring circus just to make it happen. There were complications on top of complications, and the date kept getting pushed back farther and farther to the point where I felt like we should have just dropped the whole ordeal. A, however, will not be denied, and we continued to hash out a plan.

One big complication is that her friend’s parents are divorced, and each parent has a new set of mates, so there is the issue of who is in possession of the kids, and what their feelings are about the sleepover. Another complication is that each parent doesn’t necessarily approach parenting in the same manner, and in trying placate one set, you stand to alienate another. There are also some behavior issues, but I won’t go into that.

The final piece of the puzzle was that N is buddies with said friend’s brother, so he wanted to have him over, as well. We had done this in the past, having both kids over, and it was fun. They’re great kids, I really like both of them, and it’s fun for them to hang over. This was not, however, to be part of the plan. For reasons that elude me, there was a strong inclination for the kids to be separated. We kept suggesting that we’d like both kids over, but it was met with quiet disinclination, if that’s even a word. It was a little baffling, compounded by the fact that neither side would just come out and say what they wanted.

In the end, the plan was spelled out to us. She would come to us, and N would go them. It worked out fine, N had expressed a desire to go over there, and A was stoked to have her buddy over. All’s well that ends well, right?

Well, sort of. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Andre Hagenbruch for the pic.

Beggars Can’t Be Choosers, Right?

A few weeks back I spoke with a friend of mine who said he’d get me some ski passes to a local ski hill, and that he’d bring them to the next practice. Our sons are the same age and I mentioned that it would be fun for them to ski together. He works there, and this offer came about unprompted by me, so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was.

Well, as luck would have it (or should I say bad luck?), on the day of the next practice, we had this massive snowfall that closed schools and hockey practice. My friend didn’t show up to the rink, and we didn’t get our ski passes. Total bummer. I figured that maybe I’d see him the next day or even the next week, and he’d give them to me.

Of course, that didn’t happen. For whatever reason, we never crossed paths, and a couple of weeks went by and I never saw him, even though I saw his son all the time. Either him mom brought him, or I’d just miss my friend. I could have left it at that, but I decided instead to email him and just casually mention the passes and if they were still a possibility. Yes, it was a little shameless, but when you’re trying to save money, especially for something as extravagant as skiing, you’ll go to great lengths.

Well, I ended up seeing him the next day at practice, and he said he’d leave two passes for me at the desk. The problem was, I was bringing three people: myself, N, and A. I wanted to ask for three passes, but couldn’t do it. I was too embarrassed, and figured I’d just by one ticket for myself, maybe a half-day.

Here is where the irony kicks in. We usually ski on Mondays when they have this amazing deal. The cost of buying one ticket for myself on Wednesday was more than buying tickets for all three of us on Monday. I hate when that happens. I was bummed, no doubt, but couldn’t really complain. The skiing was amazing, it had snowed the day before, and conditions were stellar, the best all season. Plus, N got to ski with his buddy, AG, whose dad works there, as well. I think A was not as thrilled since none of her friends were there, and at her age, it’s all about being with her friends, but we had a nice day, nonetheless.

I learned a lesson in that getting something for free isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. If only I’d have gotten that third pass, but beggars can’t be choosers, right? Just have to be happy with what you got.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to fimonfabre for the pic.