Ice Cold

Hockey season is upon the Northern Family. First, it was a soft start with kitchen hockey (good season so far: nothing has been broken in the kitchen, and NorthernDaddy still has all of his toes). "Real Hockey" started mid-October, and NorthernMommy and Daddy can tell you one thing: it's cold. Sitting on a cold bench two feet from the ice is not the best way to conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings.

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LittleNortherner was pretty good at skating last year. He started last year in a blue jersey (the lowest of skill levels for the program in which he's participating). This year, he's skipped over the second level (white) and wears a silver jersey(third level). He should be good enough for the highest level (black) next year.

 

(This picture was taken at the start of this season - before the new jerseys were handed out)

LittleNortherner is getting quite fast on his skates, and his turns are awesome! Needs some work on stopping (just about every kid on the rink needs work on stopping - a person watching would think that the proper way to stop on hockey skates is to crash into the boards...).

 

In addition to providing the water bottle at breaks and offering some encouragement as Little zooms by, NorthernDaddy has had the opportunity to watch some of Little's mental progressions. Little is getting pretty good at reading the scene unfolding in front of him on the ice and figuring out where the best place is for him to make the play. That gives Mommy and Daddy just a little bit of pride in their little hockey player.

The other mental/attitude thing that NorthernDaddy got to witness was during Freeze Tag. LittleNortherner hates freeze tag on skates. He despises it. He's figured out a trick, though. NorthernDaddy watched Little stand stock still on his skates as they s-l-o-w-l-y drifted him across the ice - past his 'frozen' teammates. As the coaches zipped around and through the group, they just assumed that Little was 'frozen' like all his buddies standing around with their hands up. But, he wasn't frozen. One of the coaches cut a corner very close to LittleNortherner, and - just like a crocodile snapping its prey - Little reached out and tagged him. Sneak crocodile-style attack: that's the LittleNortherner way!