Hockey Mom-dom Looms

This month’s preschool field trip was to the ice rink. Trombone was EXCITED. Wow. Skating. We have never been ice skating.

“I am going to go so fast!” he said, every day this week, “I am going to go SOOOOO FAST. And there is going to be hockey. And I am going to score goals! I am going to play hockey.”
“Um,” I said, every day this week, “it takes a while to learn to go fast. You’ll probably have to start slow…”
“I’m going to play HOCKEY,” said Fresco.
“You’re going to ride in the buggy,” I told Fresco.

Every day this week.

Today dawned, wet and grey.

“Today’s the day of my field trip!” said Trombone, “oh, I forgot!” He laughed. He has developed a very fun laugh of late. Kind of a heavy chortle.
“We’re going SKATING!” said Fresco.
“You’re going to ride in the buggy,” I said.

One grand mal (trenta?) tantrum with kicking later I agreed he could skate too. Fine. Fine! It’ll be fine.

All kitted out with skates (sizes 9, 12, and 11 for me) (OMG kids’ hockey skates are so cute!) and helmets (small and gigantic) (no I did not wear a helmet) we headed for the ice. Tiny, clomping children everywhere. Adults clomping after them. Many helpful teachers and instructors and strangers.

Trombone got to the edge of the rink and stopped.

“That’s the ice?”
“Yeah, that’s the ice.”

Fresco’s pulling at my hand trying to get on the ice.

“It’s flat.”
“Yeah, it’s flat.”
“Hm.”

We stepped out and a helpful instructor type helped Fresco get behind the steel frame thing that you push around the ice. He pretty much just skated off with her. She looked over her shoulder and said, “Is it his first time? He’s really good.”

I suspect this is because Trombone’s teacher laced up Fresco’s skates and she really knew what she was doing.

So I helped Trombone grab one of the steel frame things and step on the ice and his feet just went !whoops! right out from under him. Poor guy had a bit of a cry. I think that scared Fresco, too, because he didn’t want to skate anymore after that.

Instructor girl came back and ushered Trombone over to the middle of the rink where they have a sandbox full of snow to play in. Fresco and I made our way over and there they played for 15 minutes.

For a first time on ice, they both did really well. Luckily there were a lot of people who had one or no children with them to help out and take the kids around the rink on a toboggan or in a giant plastic truck. And I didn’t fall once! I think the last time I went skating was in 1990, so I am ever so impressed with myself.

On the way home, Trombone said,

“It was different than I thought.”
“Yeah?” I said.
“It was so flat,” he said, “I thought it would be tilted. Like a mountain.”
“Ah,” I said.

What? Can you imagine? He can.

“And the hockey game never started,” he said.
“Well, it was going on at the end of the rink,” I said. “Maybe you didn’t notice because you were concentrating.”
“I didn’t go very fast,” he said.
“No,” I agreed.
“Next time I’ll go fast.”
“I’m sure.”
“Next time we’ll race.”
“Uh huh.”
“And I’ll WIN.”
“OK then.”

(Related: Here is the first post I ever wrote about hockey, for the now-defunct Canada Moms blog.)