You know you're bored when...

the ipod shuffle clipped to your collar reminds you of a Star Trek communicator when you reach up to skip to the next song!

Just a Practice

From my journal last night:

Today was Sam's final hockey practice of the season and maybe his "career". With body checking coming to Kelowna Minor Hockey Association next year, Sam has decided that he won't be playing anymore. In one breath, I am relieved. We can barely afford a season of hockey, so it will be nice to not have that expense next year. However, I am already struggling with emotions more powerful than I anticipated.

With Casey and Abby having activities on Tuesdays these past several weeks, I have not attended Sam's practices since mid-January. Thankfully, everything worked out tonight and I was able to watch Sam's final practice.

Bittersweet! I watched Sam skate and dangle, shoot and score, and laugh with teammates, while I marvelled at Sam's smoothness and speed. He isn't the best player, but he has improved so much over the years and has an easy, smooth motion that I simply love to watch. In practice, he has so much more confidence in himself; I wish he'd carry it over into a game more often. I am biased, of course, although I am also realistic about Sam's abilities. He'll never make it to the NHL, but he's come a long way from the 9 year old kid who didn't know how to skate!

The last half of the practice was a scrimmage between the two teams sharing the ice. The final five or ten minutes had every single player involved, including two goalies in each net! The goalies had a blast, able to skate way out and get into the action in a way that they never could in a real game. It looked like so much fun! That was the moment when I realized that I should have brought my camera. I had considered it before we left the house but opted not to. When will I learn to listen to that little voice?

I know that I will miss hockey in the years to come. There will always be the WHL and NHL, but as good as they are, they don't compare to sitting in a cold arena watching my son play. I love hockey! I grew up carrying my dad's goalie pads and watching him play all over southeast Saskatchewan. There is just something about hockey played in small, old arenas that feels like home to me. I know that I will miss it, but I was still surprised at the emotional onslaught I've been feeling ever since the practice started. I cannot believe that tears are welling in my eyes as I write this. Crying over an end to hockey practices!?

We have our year end tournament this weekend. Only four, a long shot chance for five games, and then no more. Ever. I'm pretty sure I'll cry.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 Canada License.