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Quick

It was a quick weekend and here we are back to Monday. It’s as if the weekend never even happened at all. We did have a busy weekend planned. The Mayor’s first games of the season were this weekend in Fort Myers. Consequently, we planned to drive over both days for the games. This plan was obviously not great, but that way we didn’t have to find someone to watch the dogs.

We left the house Saturday intending to drive to Fort Myers for hockey. As we were driving on the Sawgrass, the Mayor texted that he was a scratch. Since we hadn’t driven that far and I was nursing the remnants of a nasty headache, we decided to turn back. Instead of driving home, we ended up at Skate Zone watching the Typhoon play the Tampa Bay Jrs. This ended up being a pretty fun afternoon as we were reunited with a lot of our friends. It also made for a much shorter day than our original plans.

We left the house yesterday morning at 6:00 a.m. to be there by 9:00 for the puck drop. He was scratched again, but we wanted to see him and support the team. It was a great game and the Eels came out on top. More importantly, what came out of the trip was seeing the Mayor in his element and hearing about his experience. He loves the program. He accepts that he’s a young player on an older team, which means less ice time. What he has gained, however, is a bunch of mentors who are helping him and the other new kids acclimate to junior hockey.

After the game, we headed to grab lunch. Not surprisingly, the first thing he said to us when we saw him was that he wanted hibachi for lunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m never thinking about hibachi at 8:30 in the morning. We did, however, end up having Hibachi at the outlets and it was really good. The Mayor has matured a lot in his time away from home, but more than that he’s found a program that fits his goals. He knows it may be less ice time in the beginning, but in the interim, he’s working hard to get better, not getting complacent, and being a great teammate. I couldn’t be more proud. He did play this morning and had a great game.

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I wish I understood that experiences are far better than material goods at a younger age. I think growing up I was too fixated on having things instead of enjoying life’s moments. So when I look in the mirror that is definitely something I wish I learned or should I say heeded earlier. I’m proud, however, that my boys firmly understand the importance of experience versus things. Although to be fair, they still want a lot of things. Nevertheless, we don’t talk about graduation presents, we talk about graduation trips. When I’m gone I want them to have a life full of memories made (and of course some mementos) with their mom exploring the world.

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Game Day!

It’s game day! We’re headed to Fort Myers for the first game of the junior season. The change from youth to junior hockey is big. I’m excited to see what the season brings. Hopefully, the drive across the peninsula is quick and uneventful. I’m bringing the big camera, so hopefully I’ll have some good pics to share.

How often do you walk or run?

I run six days a week for usually forty five minutes. I’m loving Apple Fitness + treadmill workouts. The coaching and intervals are really helping whip me into shape. After a month of doing these workouts, I see a big difference in my fitness level.

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What day is it?

What day is it? I woke up thinking it was Thursday, but my work computer must have thought it was Monday. Google Authenticator threw me into a death loop of back-up codes that lasted nearly an hour. During this time I couldn’t access anything on my laptop. I was completely sidelined for the first hour of the day. Unfortunately, I was not the only one locked out by Google’s duplicity. Fortunately, I was the first to get a hold of IT and got my issue resolved pretty quickly. Nonetheless, it cost me an hour of day, which does suck.

Last night we watched the Mayor’s team in its first scrimmage. As expected, his team dominated the Warriors. It was, however, a good opportunity for the squad to play together against someone else. He didn’t see a ton of ice, but did make the most of his opportunities. I’d love to see him get more ice time, but this is the reality of being a young guy on an older team. The best thing about my Mayor is he knows how to work. He’ll work harder than anywhere else to get to the next level.

I was thrilled that the scrimmage was run time. It started at 8:30 pm, so I was worried I’d fall asleep before the end of the first period. This was our first time watching a game on FloHockey. What a difference from LiveBarn! Livebarn is great because it gives you an opportunity to watch games you can’t attend, but the cameras are flimsy and the quality not great. The camera on FloHockey isn’t fixed and there is actual camera work being done. It’s not a fixed camera like on LiveBarn. I’m really excited to watch his games from our couch.

What’s your favorite word?

It starts with a f and ends with an uck. It’s a, as SpongeBob would say, a sentence enhancer that I use quite liberally. It’s a catch all for frustration, anger, insert negative emotion here. They say smart people swear a lot, so I’m just over here waiting for my Mensa invitation to come. While I wait, let’s enjoy a song.

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And So It Begins

And so it begins. Tonight is the unofficial start of the Mayor’s first junior season. I think they’re scrimmaging a local college or u18 team, but I’m not entirely sure. Of course this could also be the first time in his life that he’ll be a healthy scratch. He chose the program that was unequivocally the best program for him. That program, however, has a lot of tenured players. This means he’ll have to work really hard for a spot on the ice.

When we spoke with him Sunday, it was obvious that he is very happy with his choice. The Eels organization has a done a lot work, like forming ad hoc groups, to build team camaraderie. He loves that everyone is bought into the program and working to their best. I don’t have the highest opinion of Junior hockey (that’s a whole different post,) but the life skills this experience is giving him are invaluable. As the breadwinners paying for the hockey, I think they hubby and I would agree that the investment has been worth the return.

What are you doing this evening?

Tonight will be the Mayor’s first scrimmage with the new squad, so we will be watching from our couch. Although the game has a super late start time, so I don’t know how much I’ll be able to stay up and watch.

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Negative

I’m Covid negative and thrilled. I tested negative again this morning, so I was finally able to start the prednisone. I don’t know if it’s the coffee or prednisone, but I am feeling good. There’s no sign of roid rage yet, but Hubby should probably be on guard for that. Since I was Covid negative, I did go for a run on the treadmill and it was awesome. This was my first time running with Sherica, on apple fitness +, and it was an awesome workout. The playlist was straight fire.

So perhaps the negative test is what’s making me so positive today. It didn’t hurt that I had a brief chat, via text, with the Mayor’s billet mom. She’s just the sweetest. She shared that he’s adjusted really well to living away from home and the junior hockey life. Obviously, she wanted to know if we felt it was going well or if the Mayor had said anything. I shared that he’s only reached out when he needs something, which means he’s doing well. Of course, I let her know that all his feedback about the experience thus far has been positive. I’m really glad it’s going well because he can be ridiculous at times (iykyk.)

How are you feeling right now?

I’m feeling pretty good. I think it’s the steroids, but it’s Friday night and I have a long weekend in front of me. My son in Ft Myers is doing well. Jake got the position he wanted, which I’m super excited about. I’ll hold off saying more until I know more. Hopefully, the steroids will give me the energy to knock out a lot of things on my to do list. Tomorrow I’m going to return the bedding we bought the Mayor as he didn’t need it. I think I’ll use my Kohl’s cash to buy some artwork to decorate the soon to be guest rooms.

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Ready!

I’m so ready to head up to Minny tomorrow. I’m not so ready, however, to have an empty nest. While I head north to see family, including extended family due to a 50th wedding anniversary, the Mayor will head west for hockey. We’ve pretty much have hjm ready to go less a few things we need to pick up tomorrow morning before I fly out. He’s super excited to get junior hockey started.

Meanwhile, I’ve checked into my flight and have been praying to the upgrade gods. So far it’s looks a little iffy for a first class upgrade. Comfort plus May happen, but we shall see. Worst case scenario, I came at a the Sky Club while waiting for an aviator to fly me away. And just think I’ll have nobody traveling with me, so there will be no complaints about the food tomorrow. Unless I decide to complain to myself, but I don’t think that we’ll happen. I prefer waiting in the Sky Club to minimize interaction with the gate lice, who like pirates are thieves of joy.

How do you plan your goals?

I plan my goals around how I’m feeling mentally and physically. I also use current performance as a basis. Over the past few years, I’ve had to learn to be flexible with my fitness goals. Injuries and Graves’ disease have knocked me from my goals a few times. In those cases, I’ve learned to pivot and create new goals that are physically possible. I thin one of the biggest things I’ve had to learn is being flexible with my goals in the face of chronic illness.

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Tragic Day For Hockey

It was a tragic day for hockey.  Today our our hockey community mourned the loss of fifteen lives in a horrific crash involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus and a semi.  For many of us hockey parents, we’ve been on the proverbial bus trip with our youth hockey player or sent our kids/billet kids off on the junior bus.  In fact, this morning I sent my youngest on a bus up to Epcot.   I was a nervous wreck the whole time he was on the road.

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For the uninitiated, junior hockey is available to players 16-20 years old and a great stepping stone into NCAA hockey or professional hockey.  My boys have played in a program that went from mites (U8) to juniors for several seasons.  Unequivocally, the youth players revered their junior counterparts and were devoted fans of our junior teams.  Similarly, the junior players gave back a lot to our youth players.  They spent time at practices, watching their games and cheering them on.   It is an amazing relationship that exists between these players.

During Jake’s first U16 year (Goalielocks Squirt AA, The Mayor Mites), we had a billet.  Biebs had been with the Hawks the previous season and really bonded with our boys.  If he was going to come back to Palm Beach, he wanted to stay with us.  Fortunately, Biebs is an awesome kid and we enjoyed having him here.  It really allowed us to see the level of commitment and effort it takes to play junior hockey.

Throughout his season with us, Biebs would jump on the Hawks bus almost every weekend for games.  Every time he was on that bus, I would worry.   I worried that something would happen on those Florida back roads that span our state east to west.  Or I worried that they’d get hit if the bus broke down.   When you billet a player, they become a part of your family.  This morning my heart sank for the Broncos community particularly for the families and billet families. I can’t imagine their despair as their worsts fears came to fruition.

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The thing about tragedy is that it tells you a lot about the character and gumption of a community.  Our hockey community is tight knit, strong, generous and supportive.   Regardless of where we are from or what level of hockey we played or our kids play, we stand with Humboldt.  They say there is no crying in hockey and for the most part it’s true.  A hockey player could lose teeth, take a clapper to the face or have their bone broken by a shot.  Not only would they not cry, they’d try to keep playing.  Today, as we mourn the loss in our community, there’s crying in hockey.

I love our hockey community.  The Gofundme campaign is already over $2 million.  Moreover, tonight as I scan Facebook, the pictures of the Jets (Winnipeg) and Blackhawks (Chicago) game popped into my feed.  In a show of solidarity with Humboldt, both NHL teams wore jerseys with Broncos on the back instead of their own names.  Before the puck dropped, they met at center ice in an incredible show up support to Humboldt.   Many of the players that have made the show, cut their teeth in junior hockey.  For these players, they’ve been on hundreds of bus trips.

Lastly, hockey is an incredibly expensive sport.   This is especially true at the junior level where many players are playing away from home.  After the tragedy of yesterday’s crash, many of these families are faced with unexpected bills and loss of income.  A  Gofundme has been setup to help these families offset these unexpected costs, please consider donating.   Tonight I’ll hold my boys a little closer tonight as life is precious and not promised.  #prayersforhumboldt

Here’s the link to the fundraiser: Funds For Humboldt Broncos