As travel hockey parents, the one thing we really give up is time. ?Time to stop and smell the roses versus hockey equipment, prepare for the holidays and assure family we will be there for Christmas; we just do not elaborate on the timing. ?Since we have signed on with the CSDHL, the majority of our travel takes us to Chicago which is a minimum of 7 hours from our home east of Nashville. ?Our school has finally accepted hockey as a?legitimate?sport that is played and has been more than generous in working with Jacob and his missed days at school. ?For this, I am totally grateful; His counselor has been especially supportive both in school and in his hockey?endeavors!!! ?Waving to JC, we could not do it without you, your?enthusiasm or your support! ?Hugs!!!
However, due to the travel, the teams utilize any and every holiday for travel and this leaves family and friends without us. ?This leaves us working every available moment that we can including the holidays to scarf up some of that holiday pay. ?Our hearts are always with our friends and family although we may not be there physically. ?Again, why? ?We do what we do in life as parents, to support our children along the way. ?As toddlers, they may want to be a fireman or a police officer. ?We buy them trucks and cars and let them play the good guys, in fact, encourage them to play the good guys as we know as parents, the lines become blurred for some as they age, as they get older and life at times, smacks them in the face. ?However we continue to support their dreams, their goals and sometimes, we get lucky enough to tag along to see them become in life. ?As my two older ones are no longer at home, I do try to support them in?achieving?their dreams. ?Oldest is still looking, Kevin has just accepted a job in automotive mechanics with a municipality and I know this is something he loves. ?We as parents must support them, to have them be proud of what they do in life no matter if it is an?astronaut?or a street sweeper, we love them. ?John is currently pursuing his dream of being a director, producer, editor in film. ?I absolutely love his work, even if from time to time I may not agree with the content. ?Check out his YouTube channel from time to time to see his work! ?Get his views up until his makes more than just school projects. ?http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCyq-vvqS9d5mtrjC_WJJ2Q. ?He has a gift, (throat clearing) and the creativity portion of that gift I hope, he got from me. ?:D ?He works hard and we know that ?the many hours he spends behind the camera and writing the scripts which are a necessary part of his dream. ?It is my hope that my husband and I have drilled the groundwork of a moral upbringing. ?Once again, being from the south I envision the heavy obstacles of the industry. ?What he would face in Hollywood or New York, drugs,?infidelities and attitudes, we can only hope we did our job that he can now do his. ??
This also works with college and professional sports. ?We have as parents, the responsibility of setting the groundwork of our beliefs, our morals and yes, honor and I hope to have instilled in my boys that they will take through life. ?The ?hero complex? we call it, that we step up when others don?t and that we have the courage to step in and speak out that something is wrong, stand up for those who can?t. ?So far, each of my boys has made me proud that they are and are becoming great men!
Okay, enough of that; back to hockey. ?We had several trips to Chicago through November and December and that can put such a strain on families, extended, close, immediate, you just cannot image how hard it can be for the player, the player?s immediate family, everyone. ?However, we do what we do and move forward. I know this is probably the last year I will have of travelling with Mo as he looks toward the future with?ambitious?hockey plans and goals. ?We are setting into motion steps to be taken for him to go up north, live, go to school and play hockey to be a part of something bigger, something he cannot get in the south, a chance.
We drive through conditions we are not used to, such as snow. ?During one of these trips, just north of Indy, there is about 1 to 2? of snow on the ground, a few trucks off of the interstate that appear to have slid and here we are driving further north out of my comfort zone and into the winter weather. I reach behind me and tap Jacob on the knee (he is watching DVDs on laptop) and he looks out the car window and says ?Now, that?s what I am talking about!?, proceeding to video tape the snow (about 2?) ?and send home to girlfriend. ?Unfortunately, the closer we got to Chicago, the less snow we saw. ?In fact, many there?Chicagoan?s?said that they have had very little snow so far this year and really needed it. ?It was cold there and there were flurries, flurries that would shut down our school system, but it was gone the next day. ?So much for building a snowman or playing pond hockey, looked like it was just not going to happen for the players, ?again.
One very positive thing is that all of our players with injuries are now back and playing well with the addition of Wertzy, a strong aggressive?defense-man?who is playing strong in front of the net! ?Welcome back boys!! ?During one of these very games, we won against the Highland Park team, number 3 in our division. ?You know they were dumbfounded, what? How? I don?t understand? while we were celebrating that finally, we can be competitive. ?Indeed, our numbers are looking better with a couple of win?s, but ended up the 9th team overall and did not make the ?playoffs. ?However, we are going to National?s and all of this up to now, has been practice.
In closing, sorry for the delay in posting, with several back-to-back weekends to Chicago, by the time I get my ?mojo? back, we are off again. ?I have several articles in mind and can?t wait to share our experiences with you. ?As always thanks for stopping by and Happy Hockey!
Lori
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Source: http://goaliemomextraordinaire.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/family-holidays-and-hockey/
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