Hockey Mom in Spring

Why is the spring season so bleepin’ hectic?  You would think it would be a break for hockey moms, a nice reprieve from the rink to rink combat we are involved in all winter long.  But I find Spring to be absolutely exhausting and here is why:

1.  Spring sports, including my beloved lacrosse, are just a complete pain in the ass.  They are so dependent on the weather that they leave you in this eternal state of flux; looking at the sky all day, wondering if the game(s)/practice(s) will be cancelled.    

Also, most spring sports don’t have enough gear for a designated bag, like a hockey bag, and therefore there is always a last minute frantic spree trying to locate the stuff.  Baseball needs a glove, and maybe a hat if that counts as gear…I suppose some fancy kids have their own bats but my kids always quit baseball before the bring your own bat phase.  Girls’ lacrosse gear is made up of three things:  a stick, goggles and a mouthguard.  Some girls have bags but I find them a little awkward.  Instead my daughter is usually missing goggles or her mouthguard, or both.  Boy’s lacrosse requires a gaggle of gear that should go in a bag but instead boys insist on doing this gear on a stick trick:

Complete with dirty socks, and is that trash? In my dining room…yes, of course it is.  Uggh. 

The worst part of Spring sports?  There are non-hockey parents there.  It is difficult enough for crazy hockey parents to try to mix with normal society, let alone when there are youth sports involved.  Forget it- nevermind, this will be the next blog. 

2.  All the outdoor play.  Yes I said it.  I know it’s wonderful when kids play outside.  But as we are about 4 deer ticks, 2 cases of poison ivy, and 2 stolen bikes into spring, I am a little bit over it.  My kids stay outside constantly, they even play outside when their sports are cancelled due to the rain.  Then they track in all the mud, and the little one needs a bath, I mean, who has the time?   I often don’t know where they are, (they say they have a “fort”, which is thru a “secret tunnel”, I take their word for it) Then the dog is always barking halfway down the street, strange little children who aren’t mine wandering in… I start to long for January. 

3. The “getting ready” for summer.  We are busy with the boat, the yard, the pool.  All the work we have to put in jut to enjoy the summer weather.  Which lasts approximately 2 days where I live.  I haven’t actually started any of this work, but just dreading it all, feeling guilty and procrastinating takes a lot of energy. 

I also have to register for camps, plan our vacation and oh- Step It Up!!!! 

I have got to get my mushy butt to the gym before shorts season…and we are talking major hours at the gym, here.  Hours that could be spent thinking about mulch,  wondering if games will be cancelled, and plucking off ticks.  Ahh, the joys of spring! Calgon, take me back to the rink!