To the Rink Goddesses I know and love.
Well hockey season is over. I’m specifically talking about girl’s hockey
because that is my world, apparently boys play too? Who knew?
As the season comes to an end, not quickly enough for some
and too soon for others, I find myself experiencing mixed emotions. I will very much enjoy the precious hours of
free time which during hockey season I have spent (mostly happily) either freezing
my ass off in some arena or another, or driving to get to one. On the
other hand not only will I miss seeing my girls and their teams play and practice,
but oh how I will miss seeing my family of moms on a regular basis, and don’t
kid yourselves we are a family in every fun, intense, caring, dysfunctional way that counts. This is a sisterhood I didn’t know about.
I will very much miss spending time with this remarkable
group of women and their awesome daughters (and sons), both on and off the ice.
I’ll miss the ones with big curls and even
bigger personalities, the stars, the fighters, the gigglers, the quiet ones. I will miss their smiles, their hugs and
their warmth as they crawl up into your lap (the kids not the moms –well usually
just the kids) in a cold arena while they watch their older sister play explaining
to you why their favorite flavor is purple.
I will miss our hotel stays and
all the craziness (the moms not the kids) we get into but that’s another blog
all together. Mostly I will miss their
kind words and support for whatever madness that particular day may have
brought with it, whether it had anything to do with hockey or not.
In my life, I have been privileged to know some awe-inspiring,
intelligent, generous and beautiful women.
These women have often been on the front lines of many important battles
and I have been lucky enough to sometimes join them. I feel
honored that I get to add all of you marvelous women that I have gotten to know
over the last few years to that group of friends and acquaintances. I know some people think, “Hockey moms?” Screaming crazed women climbing over bleachers to yell at a referee? Maybe…sometimes,
but those are not the beautiful hockey moms I know and love, well not most of
the time anyway…insert your favorite emoticon here.
The women I have met and gotten to know and admire have
enriched my life in ways I can’t even explain, but it is a blog, so I’ll try. They lead by example and have taught me how
to be a good friend again. You know, in that organic sense, the kind of friend
you were when you were a kid, when you hung out with someone just because you
liked them and they made you happy. Sometimes
it seems that as we move on through the years busily planning our lives and
more formally choosing those whom we associate with, you forget how to just be
a good friend. If I had a dollar for
every time one of these fabulous women asked me, “If I needed any help?” I would be a rich woman. Having said that, I realize how very rich I
in fact am for having met this spectacular bunch. These women are there for you, they extend a
hand whenever and wherever they can.
They have brought a whole new meaning to sisterhood for me, in a context
I don’t think I thought of it in before and I thank them for it. One exquisite
soul even gives you a sandwich as you leave her house after dropping off your
child because she knows you won’t have time to grab a bite as you continue on
with your busy day! (I only offer wine as I’m a work in progress and truth be
told not all that nice.) Who does that? Kick ass women who care about you, these are the women I
will miss so much over the summer. It
also doesn’t hurt that my girls like the odd cocktail...just saying.
These women get up at ridiculous hours in the morning to
drive their kids and yours all over the place.
They cheer, and plan, they juggle budgets, jobs and schedules to an
extent most people couldn’t imagine. It really isn’t that easy to squeeze a holiday meal in between hockey
tournaments. A girl has definitely got
to do some planning!
Tea and coffee infused, these Road Warrior Goddesses get
their kids to the rink on time and look awesome doing it. Contrary to popular
belief, we don’t actually bare our teeth at the opposition (well not always). In fact I have met the opposition and I like
her. We see each other often, usually we
smile and say, “hello” and “good game.”
So to all you smart, kind, friendly, generous, new drink
creating (bananatini’s are truly fab), kid loving, make me laugh till I
pee my pants funny, rocking the shit out of those CFM boots wearing, TIFF loving, believing everyone counts
hockey moms…I can hardly wait to see you all next year. See ya at the rink!