A few months ago, Charlie & Jack attended their very first ice skating party. Using the assistance of walkers, they stepped onto the ice and skated around (slowly). Months later, Charlie still talked about what fun he had at the hockey party. That should have been my first clue.
Charlie and his friend, Colin, decided they wanted to try out hockey for real! The moms got together and signed the boys up for Ball Hockey. After weeks of preparation and a night of gear-buying, the day of the first practice had finally arrived! We headed to the rink to get our jersey and Charlie’s first observation was, “Where’s the ice?” This should have been my second clue.
After encouraging him to try it and assuring him that we had to get the basics of hockey down first, we headed inside, grabbed a bright orange jersey and braved the beginning of the cold to watch him play. While the majority of the team swatted balls and made goals, Charlie was on the complete opposite side of the rink, making multiple goals by himself, each time yelling out, “MOMMY! I DID IT! I MADE A GOAL!” We acknowledged his victories and then Jim began to yell for him to head over to his coaches. Jack chimed in with “CHA-WEEEEE! GOOOOOO!”
Another drill and the first practice was over almost as quickly as it started. As I made my way down the bleachers, I was greeted by Charlie who had a HUGE scowl under his mask, “MOMMEEEEE, I TOLD YOU ICE HOCKEY!!!!!!!” I stifled laughter and finished the walk down to greet him. What happened next was both shocking and comical, especially coming from my otherwise tame child.
With all of his gear still on, he slammed the stick down and screeched out, “I HATE IT! I HATE IT!” I continued to struggle not to laugh at the ridiculous view – a huge helmet yelling out and throwing sticks. When I asked him what was wrong, he exclaimed, “It’s boring for the kids! It’s just BORING!” Uncle Bill would be proud.
We walked away and vowed he would finish out the season because he made a commitment.
We also started researching skating lessons.
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