Guess what day it is! Not only is it hump day, we’re over half way there, it is National Eat Your Kid’s Halloween Candy Day. A little known holiday that’s a bit of mystery outside of the parenting circuit. Nevertheless, it is a very important one. As a parent, we’ve earned the right to pilfer their candy. If we left it to them, we’d only get the raisins, pencils or pennies. We can’t have that nonsense!
Back in my day, you hit the mother load when you got a full size candy bar in your bag. Oh how we have raise the bar! Goalielocks came home with several king sized bars last night. Could you have imagined that back in the 80s and 90s? If this seems excessive, it is. However, it does help mitigate the loss of candy to National Eat Your Kid’s Halloween Candy Day.
In order to mitigate the extra calories, I headed back to the Barre for more fun. It was another fabulous class. Truly, I can’t recommend Adam’s class highly enough. Let me tell you, Xtend Barre is a lot harder than it looks. I felt the first class for almost a week! You can imagine my horror when I got to class and the dreaded Bosu was back. Literally, the last time I did the class on the Bosu, I couldn’t laugh, sneeze, cough or move for like 5 days. It hurt my abs to simply exist.
Unfortunately, I’m battling a nasty cold. I am praying that I’m done with the coughing fits before the pan of tonight’s class hits my abs. Otherwise, sweet mother of Jesus, there will not be enough Aleve in the world to cure my ills. If I’m looking at the bright side, the good news is that class is superbly effective. I guess that’s what keeps bringing us all back now isn’t it.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Cicero. I drove to the rink to watch my youngest play to hockey games today with a heart full of gratitude. First of all, the game was at home – a total godsend. Secondly, there’s nothing better than watching your kid play the game they love. No matter how we hockey parents feel, we’re still gonna show up at the rink to watch our kids. It didn’t hurt, of course, that they won both games. Excitedly, the Mayor had the game wining goal in the 2nd game.
Yesterday, during the torrential rains of Tropical Storm Philippe, Goalielocks and I went to Dick’s and PetSmart. While driving to the store, we started talking about the current state of youth sports. For instance, when I was growing up most kids played multiple sports. In contrast, today’s kids are specializing in one sport by age 12. Moreover, the cost to play for today’s kids has become astronomical. In order to stay competitive, many kids play on tournament teams, attend clinics, take private lessons and go to camps. This, however, comes with an extremely colossal price tag that puts youth sports out of reach for many. This was mind blowing to Goalielocks. As we drove home last night, I think Goalielocks understood how lucky he’s been having played travel hockey since 2011.
My heart is full with gratitude for the boys’ opportunity to play hockey. Our boys have been playing travel hockey since 2011. In the year since, we’ve had incredible experiences with their teams. Moreover, the boys had the fantastic opportunity to travel with their teams to Boston, Minnesota, Ottawa, Washington D.C., and Quebec. This season we will be travelling to Chicago, Atlanta and Boston. Needless to say my boys’ are extremely excited for these trips.
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There are many things that fill my heart with gratitude, but none more than the incredible people in my life. From my parents and in-laws, to my brothers, my hockey family, my friends and my work squad, I am lucky to be surrounded by incredible people that make my heart sing.
Is it my or when you see the phrase lose yourself do you start singing Eminem’s driving anthem. The song is just as current today as when it was released 15 years ago. I wrote last night about trademark, which goes hand in hand with our identity. In Eminem’s song he talks about losing yourself in a music and giving it all you got. In life, we must give it all we got – we owe ourselves that-, but we can’t lose ourselves in the craziness.
Life’s circumstances can make it hard to stay true to ourselves, but we have to persevere through the challenges. If you’re like me, life has thrown you more than a couple of curve balls. In fact, if your 2017 has been like mine, I’m sure your wondering why the hell the curve balls won’t stop!?!?! Am I right? I think we’ve all been gifted more lemons this year than available vodka resulting in an unfavorable lemon to lemon drop ratio. It’s a sad state of affairs when that happens and it needs to change. 2018 do you hear me?
As we march towards 2018, 2017 has shaken many of us to our core – myself included. Grief, stress and disappointment are not the most fun combination in the world. Yes, I know captain obvious here… Grief, as I’ve found, can surprise you and completely envelop you if you let it. It creeps up when you least expect it amplifying other negative emotions.
Consequently, I was writing my blog last night when it dawned on me. I’ve drifted away from who I am as a person. I had to started to give in to the bulls%#t allowing others to define how I feel about myself and the world. Fuck that shit (sorry mom!) It was a liberating experiencing last night and left me feeling empowered. Truly, sometimes knowing is half the balance. When I realized that I had started to let the trials of life and people in it impact my trademark and my identity, I knew exactly how it fix it. You gotta love those Eureka moments!
Undoubtedly, writing is cathartic for the soul. While this blog started as a means of coping with grief after losing Debbie in March, I’ve learned a lot more about myself than I had ever anticipated. Meanwhile, here we are seven months later and I sill cannot bring myself to write about the experience of losing her. Unquestionably, it is a gradual journey and someday I’ll be able to share those experiences here. Nonetheless, here is what I do know. Life is too short to wallow in the weeds letting life or others impact our positive outlook. At the end of the day, we own our mindset as much as we own our identity. Don’t let anyone take that away from you ever no matter how tired you may be. Only you can protect your identity (and prevent forest fires.)
There are only 28 days remaining until we wage hope at the Purple Stride event in Debbie’s honor. Team Deb Force Five was the top fundraising team in 2016 and the 3rd place team in 2015. Since her diagnosis in 2015, she became an advocate for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN.) Most importantly, it is our team goal to continue the mission and support the work of PANCAN. PANCAN’s goal is to double survival of pancreatic cancer patient’s by 2020. This is a huge undertaking. Furthermore they cannot achieve this goal without our collective support.
What do Luciano Pavrotti, Count Basie, Joan Crawford, Micheal Landon, Patrick Swayze, Steve Jobs, Alan Rickman, Dizzy Gillespie, Sally Ride and Bill Hicks all have in common? Pancreatic Cancer. It is a disease that does not discriminate against race, income level or even age. Consequently, I had always thought of it as a disease of the elderly, until my healthy friend was diagnosed at 41. It was an enlightenment I could have done without.
Faced with the diagnosis of Stage IV pancreatic cancer, Debbie chose to live life to the fullest. She was a huge advocate for PANCAN and the great services they provide. Significantly, she was the keynote speaker at last year’s Purple Stride event. In her two year fight against pancreatic cancer, Debbie taught me and many others a lot about what it means to live, love, fight, persevere and be brave all with grace and dignity. Debbie will always be a beacon of light in the many lives she touched including mine. This event is a wonderful opportunity to honor her and support her beautiful family. Lastly, I look forward to walking, running, skipping, hopping or dancing with you to wage hope.
When you’re a busy hockey mom/career woman like me, staying sane amidst the crazy is always top priority. The responsibilities of work, home and hockey (insert sport here) pull you in a million different directions concurrently. Sometimes you feel like you’re caught up in the rack, a medieval torture device, because you’re being pulled so many different directions. So how does on stay sane when juggling life’s many responsibilities? How does one find a way to release the pressure and unwind? I’m glad you asked.
Here’s my Hockey Mom Fit Life guide to staying sane:
Surround yourself with great people. Your squad will pull you through the best and times and the worst of times just like in a Charles Dickens’ novel.
Make staying fit a non-negotiable priority. There is no better way to cope with the stressors of life than taking a kick arse zumba class or running 3 miles. Seriously, it works wonder for both your physical and mental health.
Get in the habit of reading books, not just your Facebook feed. A great novel can lift your spirits and stimulates your mind. There’s nothing bad about that combination.
Take a yoga class. Regardless of what type of yoga class you take or your level, nothing beats the supreme relaxation of savasana. I’ve been waiting all week for tomorrow’s aerial yoga class and its end pose savasana. In the yoga swing, which functions like a hammock, savasana is otherworldly. Undoubtedly, I will fall asleep during the final relaxation pose again. If I had my druthers, there would be an entire class of savasana. (Just a suggestion Monica!)
Eat well 80% of the time. Feed your body and soul with natural, whole foods that will fuel your workout. Additionally, when you fall off the wagon, and it will happen, don’t be yourself up over it. As long as you’re not falling off the proverbial wagon all day every, you should be okay.
Treat yo self! Back to the 80/20 rule, make space in your diet to treat yourself. One of my guilty pleasures, is European chocolates. Can you blame me? I didn’t think so. Particularly, I adore Neuhaus and Leonidas chocolates. A nice box of chocolates will last me almost. I allow myself to have one a day, like the vitamin only better, so I never feel that I’m deprived.
Take a vacation that isn’t related to your child’s sport. This summer we spent fifteen days in Norway as a family. While it certainly was not cheap, it was one of the best experiences of my life. It is a trip that we as a family will never forget. Moreover, it was a nice departure from our everyday obligations and life. Sometimes that’s all you need.
Don’t be afraid to enjoy an adult beverage with your squad and be grateful for Uber.
Pay it forward. Nothing keeps you grounded like giving back and making the world a better place. For me, it’s all about funding pancreatic cancer research in honor of my dear friend Debbie, who was the inspiration for this blog. Pancreatic cancer robbed us of a beloved member of our hockey family way too soon. Consequently, we will never give up the fight to find a cure for this insidious disease. This November, we will participate in our 3rd straight Purple Stride in her honor under Team Deb Force Five. You can join us at the event or you can donate in her honor here at our: team site.
There’s no better way to relax than by listening to fabulous music. For instance, his morning I was rocking out at work to REM, Tom Petty, The Beatles, AC/DC, so tonight I’ll leave you with some REM and No Doubt. C’est la belle vie!
I’m in serious need of a caffeine drip for tomorrow after the craziness of today’s hockey schedule. The Mayor’s team was at the rink by 7:30 am for their 8:30 game. My hubby, who is a saint, took the Mayor for warm-ups, so I could sleep in. 7:30 am isn’t really my idea of sleeping in, but it was far better than the alternative. The Mayor’s squad got the win, which started off our day of 4 hockey games perfectly.
Post-game I headed to Burn Fitness, an awesome locally owned fitness studio, for my first aerial yoga experience. Admittedly, I was a bit concerned about the inversions and the potential for nausea, so I skipped my early morning coffee and breakfast. Pre-class I had a GU gel for energy that wouldn’t upset my stomach during class. I have to say I was a bit relieved to hear that the other newcomers to aerial yoga were just as nervous as me.
Once in the studio, we picked our swings that were best matched to our height and then setup our yoga mats under them. We took to our swings to start working our core and open our shoulders. The core work in aerial yoga is quite similar to working on the TRX, so it is intense and efficient. Surprisingly, the inversions didn’t bother my stomach and didn’t make me dizzy. I quickly learned that if I was swinging too much while upside down, I could put my hand down to stop the swinging motion. The warrior poses and half moons poses felt incredible in the swing. I could feel myself getting more elastic as the class progressed. Unequivocally, the best part of class was the shavasana in the swing that quickly became cocoon-like. It was absolutely heavenly.
After yoga, I was finally able to enjoy my morning Dunkin and some solid food. I made myself some Gardein Schezuan Beef and broccoli ,which was super tasty. No sooner had I finished my lunch, when we had to head back to the rink for the Mayor’s 2nd game and Goalielock’s first game. Of course, I had to stop and get another coffee lest I get cold at the rink.
To Fly or Not To Fly
The Mayor was on fire during his second game. He scored a hat-trick and had several assists. It was incredible to see the kids moving the puck. I loved seeing them work so hard to setup their teammate for a goal. Undoubtedly, their teamwork today is what led to their success as a team. Honestly, I just love watching my Mayor play. He’s the smallest on the ice, but he plays and runs his mouth likes he’s six feet tall. He works hard and is always giving 100%. I love his commitment to his team and his game.
As soon as the Mayor’s team left the ice, the Zamboni started cleaning the ice for Goalielock’s game. I spent a lot of quality time with the scorekeeper today. In an effort to contain my crazy, I ran the music during the games today, which put me in the sin bin where I belong. Goalielock’s had the first game off, but his goalie buddy Brian was lights out that game.
Unfortunately, someone probably should have called a 5250 for the megaphone mom from the opposing team. We’ve been in travel hockey for many years and we’ve seen a lot things, but this woman took the cake. She put the craz in crazy. Keep in mind, these kids are either freshmen in high school or 8th graders not little kids. Imagine, if you will, a mom screaming directions and commentary via a megaphone from the stands. My favorite part, is when she chirped our player, #4, and he took the puck and went and scored. Thankfully, the goal was enough to shut her up for a couple of minutes. I did my best to drown her out with the music, while my better half drowned out the megaphone with a fog horn. Instant karma was served to megaphone mom as we beat the team 7-1.
Between Goalielocks’ two games, we headed to pick up the Mayor from dinner and pick up some grub. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t have a ton of time between games, so there was no trip home between them. After taking Goalielocks’ to Publix for a sub, we headed back to Hurricanes to get hubby and the Mayor. While we waited for the check, I acquired a nice, new sexy tattoo. You’ll love it, but don’t worry mom it’s only temporary.
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In the end, the Mayor decided to go to a teammate’s house during Goalielocks’ game, so we headed back to the rink without him. I took my position in the sin bin, where I belong, ready to blare the music as the boys took the ice. The game got a little chippy, but we were all relieved that there was no megaphone mom on this team. By the end of the 1st period, we were up 5-0.
Goalielocks’ wasn’t seeing a lot of work, which stinks for a goalie because you don’t have the opportunity to get into a rhythm. Nevertheless, he was playing well when his team needed him. I was busy in the box with a couple 10-2 and repeat visitors. Nonetheless, the boys won 9-2. Goalielocks’ played well, but as always was quite critical of his performance.
Today was a Monday for the history books, a day that calls for courage. As we woke up in America, we woke up to the horrid news that 50 innocent souls had been slaughtered in Vegas. Like many Americans, I struggled to make sense of the carnage. Indeed I left my house with a sick feeling in my stomach and an ache in my heart.
Fortunately, my day was busy and my mind was occupied for a large part of it. I did my best to avoid Facebook like the plague. Sadly, what was once a nice escape to check in on friends, has become a bastion of hate masquerading as advocacy and opinion. Somehow we’ve lost our perspective and our ability to respect others’ whose opinions may be different. How is it that a VP for a major news network felt it was okay to say that she had no sympathy for the victims because country music fans are often Republicans? How is okay that we, as a society, would even think someone’s life is less valuable because they disagree with us politically? Whiskey tango foxtrot….
The only acceptable response to any of this bullsh#t is the quote from Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen Silveria as he addressed the racist messages that had been written on the doors of African American cadets. He said, “if you can’t treat someone from another gender, whether that’s a man or a woman, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out. If you demean someone in any way, then you need to get out. And if you can’t treat someone from another race or different color skin with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.” Importantly, it is possible to have differing opinions, but if you can’t treat everyone with dignity and respect, than I have no time for you.
Monday was bad enough and then the news updates starting popping in that Tom Petty had taken ill with a massive heart attack. Once again, the pit returned to my stomach. Tom Petty has been a major player in the soundtrack of my life. I love Tom Petty and his music.
Long ago, as a child, so not really that long ago, my dad introduced me and my brother’s to Tom Petty. One of my fondest memories from childhood was when my parents had taken us to an airshow to see the Air Force’s Thunderbirds. Before the Thunderbirds took to the air, there were a number acts including the Army’s Golden Knights. As the paratroopers took to the sky for their performance, Tom Petty’s Free Falling blared over the live speakers. It was an amazing moment that has stuck with me for nearly 20 years. Over the past couple of years, my boys have come to love Petty’s music as much (if not more) as me.
The news of his apparent demise and then the retraction just exacerbated the pain of the day. Concerts are supposed to be an escape where the artist and the fan are able to interact. They’re supposed to be a place where the music transports you and the experience leaves you feeling more connected to the musician and the music. Unbelievably, the sicko in Vegas made the concert his opportunity to destroy many peoples’ worlds in one fell swoop. There is no other word to describe him than evil.
Tonight we mourn the loss of innocent lives and a rock icon. Its been a heavy day; a that calls for courage. These kind of days can be destructive to our mental, emotional and physical health. Consequently, it is important to find ways to cope with the stress. For me and my family, it was continuing our athletic pursuits. While the bookends both had hockey tonight, I taught Zumba and ended class with a tribute to Tom Petty. I never thought I use a Travelling Wilbury’s song in Zumba, but I used Handle With Care for a cool down and it felt incredible. Finally, tonight I’ve peppered my blog with songs for inspiration. Enjoy and namaste.
Who doesn’t love the Dug’s famous line “squirrel” in the movie Up? I love the movie Up and all of its bittersweet beauty. Maybe its just me, but some days I feel that my ability to focus is on par with the Dug’s. For may of us, we where a lot of different hats and have a boatload of differing responsibilities. Some days it feels like eight arms and 72 extra hours wouldn’t be enough to get everything done. The overwhelming nature of our 21st century lives certainly leads to many “squirrel” moments.
The trick is to teach ourselves to stay grounded and focused. By focused, I do not mean laser focused only on our to do lists or the tasks at hand. Rather, I believe staying focused means remaining true to your priorities. If family and career are your priorities, you need to ensure that your actions support those priorities.
To stay grounded, as I wrote about Sunday, it is important to pamperyourself and keep yourself mentally and emotionally ready for life. When you fail to take care of yourself, there is no way you can effectively manage your priorities and responsibilities.
It’s easy to write all of this, but it’s not nearly as easy to live it. In our society today, we are surrounded by judgement, opinions and other noise. Everyone and their uncle has an opinion on how one should manage their lives and their priorities. Ignore them- nobody knows better than you what your priorities are. Moreover, those same people may try to distract you from your priorities. You have to learn to ignore the noise.
Each of us make choices for ourselves or are families on the daily. For us, we made a commitment to our kids’ and their love of hockey. Many people cannot understand our willingness and devotion to a kids’ sport that eats all of our time and our paychecks. Nevertheless, these same people do not see the immeasurable benefits that our kids and ourselves gain from the experience.
I’m pretty sure each of us hockey parents question ourselves as we leave at the crack of dawn to drive across the state for hockey games. This lasts, of course, until we get to the rink. There’s nothing better than watching your kid play the sport he loves with kids that have become family. The cherry on top is being able to enjoy the game with your fellow hockey parents, who have also become family. Thankfully, most hockey parents/families have similar priorities i.e. their families and their careers. Thus providing an incredible support system that I could not be more thankful for.
And so it begins, after much anticipation Irma and her nasty weather are here! We’ve been able to enjoy time outside with the neighbors today before the storm and in between the feeder bands. I can’t say enough about how amazing our neighbors are, but we are super lucky.
I had to laugh when I walked out earlier today and the neighborhood men were taking turns riding the dirt bike. No better time to learn how to ride than during a hurricane! Life is all about making lemonade from the lemons and that’s truly what we’ve been doing.
While the adults played on the bike, the kids were indoors. Interestingly, the kids came back outside after the dirt bike was put away. They love playing football. In between the rain bands, and even during them, the boys were playing football with their neighborhood friends. It was a godsend for the kids to have a chance to burn off some of their energy. We are all getting stir crazy inside and the storm has barely just begun. We’ve been trying hard to overcome the boredom all day.
We’ve had several tornado warnings already tonight, but have not lost power as of yet. As long as I can post and film, I will continue to do so. To all my readers in Florida, please stay safe and godspeed!
We were playing a team they should have handled with relative ease, but in hockey (as with any other sport) you can’t take your opponent for-granted.
Throughout the entirety of the game, I had quite a bit of company. It was clear the ref’s were intent on maintaining control of the game. As a result, both boxes were packed throughout the 2nd with coincidental penalties. While it jacks up the rhythm of the game, at least it wasn’t one sided officiating.
We went into the 3rd period and the contest was farther closer than it needed to be. Consequently, my heart was racing, my stomach was in knots. My resting heart rate is normally around 68-70. While Goalielocks is in net, it varies from 90-120 depending on the game situation. According to my Fitbit, I get at least 2 hours of fat burning out of one of his games without having to lift my finger. Its great to be a goalie mom, isn’t it?
My dear friend Sharyn, seeing my angst, was kind enough to get Chris Kunitz to take a picture with me. At this point, we had 6 minutes left in the 3rd and I was officially dying. I popped out of the box to pose with the kind and very accommodating Stanley Cup winner, which knocked at least 60 seconds off the clock for me.
Unfortunately, the boys seemed intent on causing some heart palpitations and I once again had a full box. This time there was just over two minutes left and there were no coincidentals. Cheese and rice, it was a long two minutes! My heart was beating out of my chest as Goalielocks and his boys faced a 6 on 3. They stood strong.
Goalielocks ended up drawing a penalty after his buddy from the Bulldogs took a chop at his arm. Thankfully, this critical penalty ended the 6 and 4 and they were forced to put their goalie back on the ice. The squad weathered the storm and soon (although it felt like forever) the final buzzer sounded. As expected, the boys from both teams scuffled a bit after the buzzer. Consequently, the refs sent both teams off separately. Happily, this goalie mom survived and even her picture with an NHL star.
Post game we headed to Twin Peaks, which was clearly a mistake. Their hiring practices definitely do not emphasize critical thinking, time management or anything other than looks. While the food is decently price and pretty tasty, no team lunch should ever take 2.5 hours. Fortunately, our groups of parents is awesome. After all these years, we continue to enjoy each other’s company. Nevertheless, it was a bit tough to stomach that serving our group could be that complicated.
For many of us, this is our 6th year at this tournament. I was looking back at pictures from our first trip to this tournament in 2011. Our boys were so small and so sweet. Conversely, they’re no so big albeit they’re still mostly sweet. The relationships my boys and I have formed over the last 6 years of travel hockey have been absolutely priceless. There is no amount of money you could spend to replace the experience or our hockey family. In the most critical and difficult times of our lives, they’ve been there for us and we’ve been there for them. I couldn’t imagine life without our wonderfully crazy, wild and fun hockey family.
