If not, well, too bad. We have a hockey schedule!
Saturday, November 7 - Away at Kent - 5:35 pm
Saturday, November 14 - home vs. Shaker Heights - 10:30 am
Saturday, November 21 - away at Winterhurst - 8:40 am
Sunday, November 22 - home vs. Strongsville at 11:20 am
Saturday, December 12 - home vs. Kent - 9:10 am
Sunday, December 13 - home vs. Winterhurst - 7:50 am
Saturday, December 20 - away at Strongsville - 8:00 am
Saturday, January 9 - home vs. Geauga - 12:10 pm
Sunday, January 10 - home vs. Fremont - 2:45 pm
Sunday, January 24 - away at Shaker Heights - 10:30 am
Saturday, January 30 - away at Fremont - 2:45 pm
Sunday, January 31 - home vs. Winterhurst - 8:40 am (An 8:40 game the day after driving to/from Fremont. Ugh. At least it's at home.)
Sunday, February 7* - away at Geauga - 5:30 pm.
All in all, that's a pretty great schedule. Lots of home games. No 7:00 am games in Cleveland. Nice long break around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the season will be over by the first week in February. But please, for the love of all things, do not tell Nate that there aren't any Parma games scheduled this year. I swear some days I think that child plays hockey just so that he has an excuse to go up there and eat pierogies.
They're not listed on the schedule, but we will also have two tournaments (South Bend, IN and Columbus), and I believe we'll be playing at least one game up at the Q again this year. I'll let you know when I know more about that.
*Yes, that would be super bowl sunday. No, there's nothing I can do about it. The coach is trying to get it changed.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Times Change
This weekend I was talking with some of my Mommy friends about the fall daylight savings time change. When we were younger, it was practically magical. We could sleep in an extra hour in the morning! It was great, until our bodies eventually acclimated and it felt just as miserable to get up in the morning as it had three weeks prior. In our twenties, it gave us an extra hour before the bars closed, and an extra hour to sleep it off the next morning. Even as young adults, it would give us a chance to get up and hit the gym before work for a couple of weeks before exhaustion and apathy set in.
But for parents of small people, there is no reason to celebrate daylight savings. For them, the time change is an epic hassle. Toddlers are nothing if not creatures of habit. Change their routines, and there will be hell to pay. Mike and I started the parenting thing a little earlier than a lot of our friends, so we're at a very different stage in life than the ones who still have infants and toddlers living under their roofs. We're not facing weeks of disrupted sleep, kids waking up an hour earlier than the clock says they should, or falling asleep in their plates at dinner. Even if our kids wake up earlier than we want them to, for the most part it has no effect on our day. In fact, just this morning I got up to let the dogs* out and sat down on the couch in the TV room to check my email. After a few minutes, I heard a weird clicking sound from the front room, and wandered in there to find Nathan happily playing video games. Until that very moment, I thought I was the only one up.
When your kids are born, you have to essentially function as an external life support system. They're completely dependent on you for everything, and you have to teach them things - to eat, to walk, to talk, to blow their noses - that seem ridiculous, in retrospect. Later, those lessons get a little more abstract - to beware of strangers and cars, to read and write, to share. We're in a sort of weird parenting phase now. Both of our kids are able to feed, dress, and entertain themselves. Nathan can read better than most high school students and rarely needs help with his homework. Brendan is in high school now, teetering on the brink of adulthood. He never asks for help with homework. In fact, he nearly always denies the existence of any homework assignments. Tonight he cooked us dinner. He made wings (in a deep fryer that I am not allowed to use without adult supervision), corn, baked beans, and tater tots, with minimal assistance. Sometimes it feels like the only role we have left is to write checks, provide transportation, and keep the refrigerator and pantry stocked. They're both pretty good kids, and because we provide so little help to them with their day-to-day needs, it sometimes feels like the only thing we have left to do is to wait out the teenage years and unleash them on the world after graduation.
But I realize that the hardest and most important part of our job is still in process. We have to teach them how to be productive and engaged members of our community. They need to know that the biggest test of their characters will be how they act when nobody else is looking. We have long (and generally interesting, sometimes absurd) conversations about politics and economics and justice. We have to teach them how to be good friends, boyfriends, and later, husbands, and (hopefully) someday, fathers. Anyone can teach a kid how to tie his shoes; it's a lot more difficult to teach him how to handle himself when someone he thought was a friend turns out not to be, or how to stand up for people and animals who can't stand up for themselves. When they are little you can carefully curate their list of friends and arrange playdates for them. When they are teenagers with smart phones and social media accounts and 24/7 ability to be horrible to one another without any parental buffer, sometimes the only thing you can do is just reassure them that high school won't last forever. And, perhaps most difficult, as our friends and family age and die, we have to teach them how fleeting life is, how important it is to spend time with the ones you love the most, and how to honor and carry on those loved ones' lessons and memories.
Some days it would be so much easier to go back in time and deal with lost sleep and tears because someone took the train they wanted to play with at the library. Luckily for us, they are good kids, and their friends are good kids who come from good families. With every day that passes, I become more acutely aware how quickly their entire childhood goes by. We're on the precipice of driving (which means even more independence), SATs, and college visits. Someday soon our only role will be to worry about them from afar, offer advice only when asked, and occasionally bail them out** when trouble strikes. That will be the most difficult phase we'll ever endure, and it'll last for the rest of our lives. So for now, I'll just try to enjoy sleeping in and providing taxi services and commiserate with our friends who haven't slept through the night in weeks. And I'll take my own advice and remember to try to love nearly every precious minute of it.
** Dear lord, please let there not be any literal bail payments.
But for parents of small people, there is no reason to celebrate daylight savings. For them, the time change is an epic hassle. Toddlers are nothing if not creatures of habit. Change their routines, and there will be hell to pay. Mike and I started the parenting thing a little earlier than a lot of our friends, so we're at a very different stage in life than the ones who still have infants and toddlers living under their roofs. We're not facing weeks of disrupted sleep, kids waking up an hour earlier than the clock says they should, or falling asleep in their plates at dinner. Even if our kids wake up earlier than we want them to, for the most part it has no effect on our day. In fact, just this morning I got up to let the dogs* out and sat down on the couch in the TV room to check my email. After a few minutes, I heard a weird clicking sound from the front room, and wandered in there to find Nathan happily playing video games. Until that very moment, I thought I was the only one up.
When your kids are born, you have to essentially function as an external life support system. They're completely dependent on you for everything, and you have to teach them things - to eat, to walk, to talk, to blow their noses - that seem ridiculous, in retrospect. Later, those lessons get a little more abstract - to beware of strangers and cars, to read and write, to share. We're in a sort of weird parenting phase now. Both of our kids are able to feed, dress, and entertain themselves. Nathan can read better than most high school students and rarely needs help with his homework. Brendan is in high school now, teetering on the brink of adulthood. He never asks for help with homework. In fact, he nearly always denies the existence of any homework assignments. Tonight he cooked us dinner. He made wings (in a deep fryer that I am not allowed to use without adult supervision), corn, baked beans, and tater tots, with minimal assistance. Sometimes it feels like the only role we have left is to write checks, provide transportation, and keep the refrigerator and pantry stocked. They're both pretty good kids, and because we provide so little help to them with their day-to-day needs, it sometimes feels like the only thing we have left to do is to wait out the teenage years and unleash them on the world after graduation.
But I realize that the hardest and most important part of our job is still in process. We have to teach them how to be productive and engaged members of our community. They need to know that the biggest test of their characters will be how they act when nobody else is looking. We have long (and generally interesting, sometimes absurd) conversations about politics and economics and justice. We have to teach them how to be good friends, boyfriends, and later, husbands, and (hopefully) someday, fathers. Anyone can teach a kid how to tie his shoes; it's a lot more difficult to teach him how to handle himself when someone he thought was a friend turns out not to be, or how to stand up for people and animals who can't stand up for themselves. When they are little you can carefully curate their list of friends and arrange playdates for them. When they are teenagers with smart phones and social media accounts and 24/7 ability to be horrible to one another without any parental buffer, sometimes the only thing you can do is just reassure them that high school won't last forever. And, perhaps most difficult, as our friends and family age and die, we have to teach them how fleeting life is, how important it is to spend time with the ones you love the most, and how to honor and carry on those loved ones' lessons and memories.
Some days it would be so much easier to go back in time and deal with lost sleep and tears because someone took the train they wanted to play with at the library. Luckily for us, they are good kids, and their friends are good kids who come from good families. With every day that passes, I become more acutely aware how quickly their entire childhood goes by. We're on the precipice of driving (which means even more independence), SATs, and college visits. Someday soon our only role will be to worry about them from afar, offer advice only when asked, and occasionally bail them out** when trouble strikes. That will be the most difficult phase we'll ever endure, and it'll last for the rest of our lives. So for now, I'll just try to enjoy sleeping in and providing taxi services and commiserate with our friends who haven't slept through the night in weeks. And I'll take my own advice and remember to try to love nearly every precious minute of it.
** Dear lord, please let there not be any literal bail payments.
Friday, October 9, 2015
This week (10/9/15)
The soccer season is finally dragging to a close, just in time for hockey to start up, lol! This week should be interesting.
Saturday, October 10 - 9:00 a.m. - home vs. Hoban
Monday, October 12 - 5:00 p.m. - away at Lake.
Thursday, October 15 - 5:00 p.m - away at GlenOak. Last game of the season and I'm going to miss it. Boo!
Saturday, October 17 - 11:00 a.m. - hockey away at North Olmsted
Sunday, October 18 - 10:00 a.m. - hockey vs. Winterhurst at home.
Saturday, October 10 - 9:00 a.m. - home vs. Hoban
Monday, October 12 - 5:00 p.m. - away at Lake.
Thursday, October 15 - 5:00 p.m - away at GlenOak. Last game of the season and I'm going to miss it. Boo!
Saturday, October 17 - 11:00 a.m. - hockey away at North Olmsted
Sunday, October 18 - 10:00 a.m. - hockey vs. Winterhurst at home.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
This week (9/28/15)
. . . just sucks. That's all.
Monday:
Hockey & soccer practice.
Tuesday:
Mike and I signed up to work the concession stand, not realizing that Brendan doesn't even actually have a game that night! Argh. That means we need someone to take Bug to hockey. Anyone?
Wednesday:
More soccer practice. More hockey practice.
Also, fall sports bonfire.
Thursday:
Soccer game - maybe? The schedule says they're playing away at Copley at 5:15. But they already played Copley a month ago, in a game that was supposed to have been cancelled. The away team's bus rolled up halfway through the boys' practice, so they played it. So is this a leftover game from when it was supposed to be rescheduled? Or a duplicate game just to round out our schedule? I have no idea.
Friday:
Soccer practice.
Hockey game!
8:40-9:40 pm - Home vs. Rocky River. Sweet moses. So glad it's at home, but really? A game that late for nine year-olds? Honestly.
Saturday:
Bren might have a game against Findlay. He also might not have a game against Findlay. Who knows? If it takes place (like one of the two calendars indicates), it will be at 11:00 am at home.
Sunday:
Nathan hockey - 10 am - vs. Geauga - Home.
Monday:
Hockey & soccer practice.
Tuesday:
Mike and I signed up to work the concession stand, not realizing that Brendan doesn't even actually have a game that night! Argh. That means we need someone to take Bug to hockey. Anyone?
Wednesday:
More soccer practice. More hockey practice.
Also, fall sports bonfire.
Thursday:
Soccer game - maybe? The schedule says they're playing away at Copley at 5:15. But they already played Copley a month ago, in a game that was supposed to have been cancelled. The away team's bus rolled up halfway through the boys' practice, so they played it. So is this a leftover game from when it was supposed to be rescheduled? Or a duplicate game just to round out our schedule? I have no idea.
Friday:
Soccer practice.
Hockey game!
8:40-9:40 pm - Home vs. Rocky River. Sweet moses. So glad it's at home, but really? A game that late for nine year-olds? Honestly.
Saturday:
Bren might have a game against Findlay. He also might not have a game against Findlay. Who knows? If it takes place (like one of the two calendars indicates), it will be at 11:00 am at home.
Sunday:
Nathan hockey - 10 am - vs. Geauga - Home.
Monday, September 21, 2015
It's a great day for hockey! 2015-2016 Preseason schedule.
Our little Gretzky is getting ready to start his second season of hockey this week! They've been practicing since late summer, and tryouts were a couple of weeks ago. This year he's moving up from the "Mite" division to the "Squirt" division. Quote of the day: "For such an aggressive sport, I have no idea why they use names like 'mite' and 'squirt' to describe the age groups" - Mike Bickis.
Mites skate on half-ice and play 2-minute shifts of four skaters and one goalie. The game stops every 2 minutes and the entire line (except the goalie) leaves the ice, replaced by a whole new set of players. It keeps things moving - nobody gets bored and starts taking off gear on the bench, and they don't get too tired. For squirts, they move to full ice, which has been a huge transition. I don't know how many kids are on the ice at one time, or how long their shifts last. We're still so new to all of this!
At any rate, this week they scheduled a series of preseason games. These don't count in the season statistics; they're designed to let the coaches and admins figure out which division to place the boys in. The first game is this coming weekend!
9/27/15 at 11:45 a.m. - vs. North Olmsted - Away
10/2/15 at 8:40 p.m. - vs. Rocky River - Home
10/4/15 at 10:00 a.m. - vs. Geauga - Home
10/17/15 at 11:45 a.m. - vs. North Olmsted - Away (we're not playing this game)
10/18/15 at 10:10 a.m. - vs. Winterhurst - Home (don't think we're playing this one, either)
10/24/15 at 4:00 p.m. - vs. Fremont - Away (this is way out yonder toward Toledo/Sandusky. Ugh)
Come if you can.
I think I'm being Gaslighted by my own kid.
Over the weekend, I asked Nate to do some research on hermit crabs to see if it needed some fresh food to supplement the dry food we bought. He did, and we found out lots of fascinating things about hermit crabs, a.k.a. "you're doing it wrong."
According to random folks on the internet, they enjoy green vegetables like kale and broccoli, as we as fruits, including bananas, mangoes, peaches and apples. Some observations:
1) Oh good, there's another foodie in my house.
2) How, exactly did they figure that out?
Our old parrot used to scream her head off if anyone dared to make popcorn and not share with her, so I guess I should be careful into whose glass cage I throw stones on this subject, but who woke up one morning and decided to give a hermit crab kale? I can get on board with mangoes and bananas. They grow in tropical places where you're likely to find a hermit crab. But did someone take their crab with them to the produce section, give it a $5 bill and let it go crazy on the apple bin? Weird.
As it turns out, you're also apparently supposed to provide them with fresh water and salt water. And don't think you can get away with just dissolving some regular salt into that water. Nope. It needs to be a special marine salt mixture. Nate helpfully found a 2lb. bag of it online, which would probably be a lifetime supply for an entire army of hermit crabs (which, let's be clear, I'm not interested in owning). Instead, we went to the pet store and found some already mixed up! It's the size, shape, and color of an ordinary disposable water bottle, so we were sure to warn the kids when we got home that it was just for Hermes (which is what we've been calling the crab for months). Nate threw a look of confusion mixed with pity for being so incomprehensibly stupid over his shoulder and said "What did you call him? His name is Hercules." That's . . . news to me.
Here, Hercules, have some kale.
According to random folks on the internet, they enjoy green vegetables like kale and broccoli, as we as fruits, including bananas, mangoes, peaches and apples. Some observations:
1) Oh good, there's another foodie in my house.
2) How, exactly did they figure that out?
Our old parrot used to scream her head off if anyone dared to make popcorn and not share with her, so I guess I should be careful into whose glass cage I throw stones on this subject, but who woke up one morning and decided to give a hermit crab kale? I can get on board with mangoes and bananas. They grow in tropical places where you're likely to find a hermit crab. But did someone take their crab with them to the produce section, give it a $5 bill and let it go crazy on the apple bin? Weird.
As it turns out, you're also apparently supposed to provide them with fresh water and salt water. And don't think you can get away with just dissolving some regular salt into that water. Nope. It needs to be a special marine salt mixture. Nate helpfully found a 2lb. bag of it online, which would probably be a lifetime supply for an entire army of hermit crabs (which, let's be clear, I'm not interested in owning). Instead, we went to the pet store and found some already mixed up! It's the size, shape, and color of an ordinary disposable water bottle, so we were sure to warn the kids when we got home that it was just for Hermes (which is what we've been calling the crab for months). Nate threw a look of confusion mixed with pity for being so incomprehensibly stupid over his shoulder and said "What did you call him? His name is Hercules." That's . . . news to me.
Here, Hercules, have some kale.
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