hockey mom

I know I have blogged about hockey before. I've commented on my feelings about the sport and the life of a parent who cheers their child on in the cold skating arena. My future as a hockey mom just became more inevitable after this weekend. Andrew has been working on a small ice pad in our backyard. Nathaniel has been most excited about helping out with this task. New skates were purchased on Sunday and Nathaniel hit the ice for the first time this season a few hours later with his new skates on. The boy seems hooked. When he has a hockey stick in hand and his eye on the puck, the falling and slipping on ice are irrelevant. He gets himself to his goal and practices his wicked slap shot.

How he gets around the ice can be entertaining to watch but he perseveres. Jesse has the job of being the zamboni. He loves this new job.

All Nathaniel could talk about on Monday (when I took these pictures) was getting on the ice after our trip to the grocery store was over. He wasn't so sure I knew how to put on skates but I proved to him that mothers are pretty intelligent people. He put me in net first and practiced his stick handling and goal scoring capabilities. I took a puck right in the foot and man it hurt. (Did you notice that I did not say skate? Yes, it is true. I do not own a pair of skates. Soon people. Soon.) No Jesse was not laughing at my sore foot in this picture. Actually, I don't know what he found so amusing. But something cracked him up.

Nathaniel stuck to his hockey practice for a few more minutes.

Then he called a time out and took a rest. Soon the skates came off and he played in net with his boots. It was hard getting him in for lunch. I envision many hours outside on our new ice rink. If you happen to drop by and we're not answering the doorbell, I think you can figure out where we'll be.