6 a.m. practice

Not for me - I'm doing next week's shift. While my aspiring hockey player was up and at 'em I was dreaming away in my ambien-induced sleep. When he was walking into his classroom, I was walking around in my flannel pj's waiting for my first cup of coffee. It does amaze me that my child - who is dead weight every morning that I try rousing him for school - will wake at the crack of dawn to go to practice. I used to be that way. I would wake early to get my daily run in. Now it's all I can do to get up in time to get my offspring to school.

I find that with hockey, I am learning so much. I do need to clarify this statement because I think in general, a parent, if open to it, can learn so much from their children. They teach us to appreciate the simple things, living in the moment, that water was not meant to stay in the bathtub, eating dessert first...I could go on. What I am learning from my son's experience with hockey is commitment, fortitude, teamwork, perseverance. I'll be honest, my son's team had a less than stellar record. To be frank - it sucked doggy doo-doo. It was a long, losing season but my little guy didn't give up nor did he complain...much. He kept going to practice, day after day, week after week, month after month. He did it for the love of the game. I'm not saying he didn't have his moments, because he did, but after his mini-meltdowns, he would pack up and we would move out for the hour long trek to the rink for the 3+ hours of practice.

I have also found that this behavior is not unique to my hockey playing son - every player on every team he has been on is like this. This "thank you sir, can I have another" behavior is characteristic of most hockey players ranging from the tiniest 4 & 5-year old Mites to the 17+ Midget Majors. It's kind of a bizarre phenomenon. Perhaps it occurs in other sports - I don't know because we have been hockey obsessed to the exclusion of other sports (with the exception of lacrosse which is just like hockey but with less pads and warmer). All I know is what I see and what I see is just like the Mastercard priceless ad from a few years ago...and you hockey parents know exactly what I am talking about.