Rite of Passage

The time had come... I had finally turned four and I knew this momentous occasion would be coming soon. Then, it happened! Two weeks ago, I became an official hockey player. Not a living room hockey player, not a backyard hockey player, but a legitimate "lace 'em up" hockey player. A hockey player that has to wear a cup! Like I said people, this is no joke, this is the real deal

I am a Timbit and proud of it! I proudly wear #2 for the blue team and am happy to say that my jersey actually stinks! It already has that hockey smell, the one I've heard of, but never really experienced! Mommy has now experienced the stench from the "other" side, the parenting side. Yes, she appreciates the stink, but nonetheless would like to thank her parents for putting up with it for over 15 years!

I have hockey practice every Saturday from 10 to 10:50am, which requires leaving the house at 9:15 to get to the rink by 9:30. That's when mommy descends upon me! It takes us 1/2 an hour to get ready and after that 1/2 an hour, we're both exhausted. You want to know the hardest part about getting dressed? No, not the skates, but the GLOVES!! Those buggers are tough. Getting 1 finger and 1 finger only in each finger hole is proving quite challenging. So much so that mommy is contemplating creating a hockey mitten!

My teammates and I work hard! We fall down quite a bit and we're all pretty quick to pop up at the beginning of practice, but after about 25 minutes, we start to fade... Some of us are crawling around on our knees, others are perfecting their snow angel technique for the upcoming snow, and others, well some just stand there, as if they are frozen. Sure we hear the outbursts of laughter from the stands, but when ever we look up, we see our proud parents giving us thumbs up and raising their hands in the air in victory. As a team we usually take break in the penalty box, while the coach orders us to open our mouths so he can squirt some water in our general direction. By the 50 minute mark, all of us are clamoring to get off the ice. Our feet hurt, we're all sweaty and most of us are hungry and thirsty. As our parents peel our gear off, we look around at each other and ever so slightly smile, the smile of pride.

My buddy Gordy and me

now with our mascot, the reminator

Mommy giving me one last tip before we hit the ice

It's go time!

I'm the blue guy where you can't see my number

Right in front of the coach between the center circle and the M

Yeah, already have my "hockey" smile perfected!