And so it begins

Hockey that is. Practice for Josh has begun and thankfully his cast was removed just in time. He was able to get his hard cast off last Thursday and practice began on Monday. He still has to wear a splint but that at least allows him to play since his hand is in a glove.

If you are new to this blog or haven’t paid attention over the years then you may not know Josh plays for the North Shore team. There are 6 boys his age that play for the same team and practices are held in either Two Harbors or Silver Bay, that is where their home rinks are.  They are combined with kids from the entire North Shore, hence the name.

What that means for these boys is when practice is at 4:15pm they get to leave school early. Yesterday it was 2:15pm when we left, a 90 minute car ride, 2 hour practice and 90 minute car ride home. The car ride there isn’t bad, it’s the humid, somewhat stinky car ride home that is a bit yucky.

It’s a huge commitment to play hockey when you live so far from an indoor rink. You have to really love the sport, be somewhat crazy and have the support of other hockey families in your area. And let me emphasize I personally don’t love the sport so it means I’m heavy on the other two.

And so it begins.