Back Again

So how is this for bad luck? I was walking out to the car two days ago and slipped on the steps and landed on my back. Not just on my back, however - I landed in a way so that my back hit the corner of the step, and believe me when I tell you, it was a free fall. Talk about brutal. I was holding a sandwich, water, and cup of coffee, and just like you'd see in a movie, my feet came out from under me and I slammed the ground, with my food flying off in all directions.

I was laying in the snow in extreme pain, wondering if I'd broken something, and managed to get on my feet and stumble back into the house. The bummer was that I was on my way into work, so I had to get a grip and drive over to the big city, and then run practice at the arena. This was my turn to come up with the practice plan and run the show, so I couldn't bail out. To add to the misery, two of the other coaches couldn't make it, and the third almost didn't show up, though he did make it as he said he would. Thanks to DW for that one.

I ended up skating with the players but suffice it to say that I was morbidly afraid of falling on the ice, which is a pretty realistic possibility given the nature of the game. Some of the players rallied and said they'd help run the practice, which was nice of them, and once DW showed up, my spirits lifted. I made it through and so far I've been reasonably functional, though in constant pain. Having hurt my back in the past, I was not looking forward to dealing with life with more back pain, but so far I've managed. Hopefully things will only get better from here.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Ms Kat for the pic.

The Search Continues

A weekend or two back we bore down and addressed several winter gear needs that I had failed to fulfill over the summer. Granted, I was looking for bargains, which always seems to complicate things. Had I been willing to pay top dollar for everything, then all of my problems would have been solved. The kids had several winter gear needs, some of them essential, others not so much. Then again, the fun ones are essential in their eyes, right?

A needed a new winter clothes, she'd outgrown her old stuff, and being the hipster that she is, certain elements of style needed to be considered, which I totally get. The only thing is, her tastes for a particular item ran into the realm of being pricier than I was willing to entertain. It's not easy being a hipster. I realize there are people who don't blink an eye at paying $400 for a jacket, but I am not such a person, so the search has been a drawn out process. She also needed new snow pants, ski boots, as well as Nordic and Alpine skis. Is that crazy, or what?

N is growing, as well. I needed to find him new snowboard boots (not that he's ever snowboarded, but this will be the year), skis, and Nordic boots. Over the summer I managed to score a new winter coat and skis, so he's set in those areas. With this in mind, we set out on a quest, managing to avoid Black Friday madness, and succeeded in answering several needs over the past few days. I think the only thing left to get is Nordic boots for A. We even managed to score a snowboard jacket for her, which for the record, we had to buy new because you just can't find bionic bargains for really stylish and hip clothes. Kind of a bummer, but what are you going to do? Kids need to look good.

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

Cold Outside

We've been getting the kind of weather lately that on the one hand is not unusual, but on the other, sort of makes you scratch your head. One would expect cold temps during this time of year, but it has been really cold, I'm talking arctic tundra cold. Definitely too cold for this time of year, save it for February. We also got some early snow, which was nice, but then it warmed up, rained, then froze again, which is a nightmare combination. Toss in some frozen rain, and you are pretty much homebound for the duration. Of course, I was busy with hockey all weekend so I couldn't deal with domestic duties, and am now suffering because of it.

Even if you aren't going anywhere in your car, there are certain things that need snow-clearing around the house, especially when you heat with wood. The path leading to the wood and compost bin get ice and chunky, making it hard to push a wheelbarrow full of wood through, so after everything melted and froze again, I had to go through and break up the ice with a shovel then clear the chunks. Even then it's difficult to get everything. You really have to get on it when it first falls and is soft. Oh well, nobody said life in New England was easy.

When the rains came and turned our driveway into slush, it made driving a little tricky, and I got stuck in the muck. I was leaving to meet A at the Dartmouth hockey game and I tried to drive over the small embankment at the end of the road and slid backward. When I tried to get out of that, I kept sliding back, making it worse. I ended up shoveling the slush away and then laying down sand in front of the tires, which BTW were not snow tires. Our neighbor M was walking by and offered to help, and at some point R realized I hadn't made it out and she, too came out to help. With two of us pushing and R at the wheel, we managed to get on the road, which was all I needed. I got the game really late, but it was nice seeing A hanging with her friends. I have to confess, I wasn't as enthralled with the Dartmouth game and could be in the throes of major hockey fatigue.

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

Doing the Right Thing

While I'm not a believer in karma, I do think we've experienced an interesting turn of events by doing the right thing. Over the past year or so we've been pretty into disc golf, and one of the unfortunate consequences of throwing a frisbee disc in a heavily wooded or bushy area is that they often get lost. We've yet to lose a disc, though we've spent many hours searching and finding them. For some people, taking that much time to find it isn't an option, and they end up going home without their discs. We've discovered a few, and they're kind of fun to find.

Of course, the right thing to do is return them. Almost all of them have a name and phone number written on the bottom, so after we'd gathered about a half of a dozen of them, we decided it was time to make the calls. Interestingly enough, we called all of them repeatedly, and only one person returned our call. He lived nearby and appreciated us contacting him. He gave us his address but indicated that if he didn't get it back, it was not a big deal. We are frequently in his neck of the woods, so I went by there and left it on his porch.

As for the others, still no word, which I find strange. Whatever be the case, we're still in possession of the discs, so our collection, or should I say N's collection, is pretty nice. Even with the newfound discs, he favors the ones he got for his birthday. It's good to have backups since, as every disc golfer knows, those things get lost all the time.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Humboldt State University for the pic.

Weekend in Springfield

Last weekend we yet another hockey-filled excursion, the second weekend in a row. Now I know hockey on the weekends is a normal thing for us, but between two kids playing and two consecutive tournaments, it gets crazy, especially when it involves overnight stays. We traveled to Springfield MA to play in N's tournament, which required a two night stay at a budget motel, which for the record was a complete disappointment because their pool was closed. How's that for an unfortunate coincidence? We travel to Ohio and the pool is closed, then we travel to Massachusetts and the pool is closed. Bummer. It just wasn't meant to be.

The tournament was fun, with all the socializing and of course, hockey. N had a blast, how could he not? Staying at a hotel with 15 of this friends, eating out every meal and getting waffles for breakfast every morning is living the good life.

I enjoy the company of the other parents, they're all very nice people, but I do find big group events to be exhausting and I always end up spending more money than I want to on dinner. It happened both nights, though one night was due to bad planning. You'd think I'd have learned the drill by now. For whatever reason, N's game was the very last game of the tournament, so we had to stay until Sunday night at 5:00PM, then drive home. The drive itself was not that bad, but it was a taxing weekend, and long drives at night when you're tired can be challenging.

It's always nice to get home, and I, for one, am looking forward to a little break from hockey, which of course I will not get. Oh well, such is the life of a hockey parent.

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

Changing of the Guard

I have been the scheduler for the hockey program for the past three years and it's a bear of a job. I did not want the job in the first place but way back when Mr. Hockey wouldn't take no for an answer. He was up front and honest about it, telling me that it was a lot of work but an important job. I wasn't thrilled about it and told him repeatedly that I wasn't interested, but he wouldn't take "no" for an answer and kept dogging me until I gave in. When I took it on, I had no clue what I was doing, but over time I figured it out, and it's true, it is an enormous job. It starts in August and continues until about March. The work itself isn't the part I loathe, it's the complaining and whining by everyone around you about the schedule, and then the demands that things be changed without much thought about the work that went into it and the consequences of making those changes.

In the end, I'd probably rather not have to do it because it's just one more thing, and a big one at that. Well, my whining was clearly heard by the board because at their big annual meeting they sent out a request for someone to replace me and they got a taker. One of the moms who has experience scheduling came forward and said she'd do it. Wow, I couldn't believe it. Of course, the insecure part of me wondered what I did wrong to warrant replacement. I even went to the president and explained that even though I whined and moaned about the job, my intention was not to quit. I was not lobbying hard to be replaced, and he assured me that this was not the situation, they just felt like it was good to have a backup in place.

With that in mind, I then indicated that since things were in motion and someone had come forward who was willing and able, then I would start the process of handing over the reigns and moving on with my life. It's a good opportunity because the scheduling is basically done. Things will change over the rest of the season, but for the most part, the hard part is done. It's a good time to ease someone into the job, and I can't pass up this opportunity.

In the end, I worked pretty hard at the job and did the best I could. I can take that much away from it, and you can only expect so much from one person... yeah, right.

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

Brush With the Law

I can't tell you the last time I got pulled over by the police for a traffic violation, which I'm thankful for. It's probably been over 25 years. I've become a much mellower driver in my old age, and sometimes I'm embarrassed by how I drove in my younger days. It makes you realize how shortsighted and thoughtless young drivers can be.

Well, the other night I was bringing the kids home from hockey practice and we were driving on a remote road that connects the two towns, and at some point a car pulled in behind me and I didn't give it much thought. We came to an intersection and I confess that I didn't come to a complete stop as I made the turn, and you can imagine what came next. As soon as those flashing lights came on, my heart sank. I pulled into the first space I could find and waited for my punishment. I was so bummed, and the kids were probably baffled about what was happening. I don't think they'd ever seen us getting pulled over. The thing is, the road was empty and there was nobody around. It's a lonely country road, not that this makes it okay to run stop signs.

The officer was nice and took all my information. He spent several long minutes in his car which I took to be a bad sign, but he ended up just issuing me a warning. Boy was I stoked. The warning said I didn't use my turn signal, though I'm pretty sure I did. Even N said he thought I did, but I wasn't about to argue and jeopardize my good fortune. My guess is that he had been following me for a bit. Thinking I was going too fast, he was just looking for an excuse to pull me over and I gave it to him.

I'll tell you one thing, I'm not running any stop signs for awhile.

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