Okay, so this post will be nothing new for any member of @msp-canada but it is something other steemians may not understand. It is my Saturday morning routine and it is not much different than any other good Canadian.
It all begins at 6:00am. Much too early for the sun to be up yet in the cold month of December. I roll out of bed and throw on the first pair of pants that I can find in the dark. Hopefully the shirt that I grab matches the pants... actually, it doesn't matter.
The next step is trying to wake the hibernating bear. My 6 year old son Luke is fast asleep and does not do well with being awoken from his slumber. This process takes awhile, turn on the light and keep talking to him while I pull some clothes out of his dresser. Give him a gentle shake and say "Luke... Luke... its time to get up. We have to go to hockey". For some reason, once that word comes out of my mouth his eyes open up. Sure he isnt really awake, but I got him on the hook now. I throw a shirt over his head and he rubs his eyes in the dark. "Can we go to Tim Hortons?" He asks.
"Shhh... everyone is still asleep" I reply without giving him a real answer.
"I am really hungry, I want a donut" he says, now more alert than before.
"Ok, we can go to Timmies. If you dont get ready quick though, we wont have time before hockey." I respond.
This does the trick. His feet are now out side of the covers and he is pulling on his sweatpants. We make our way downstairs and start collecting all the gear we need. It is easy to forget something at 6:30 in the morning so I go through my mental checklist.
Jock, shin pads, hockey socks, pants, skates, tape, shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, helmet, neck gaurd and jersey. It is all there. Now to grab my skates, helmet and gloves as well.
OH WAIT. Cant forget the sticks!
We jam all of the gear into his hockey bag which ends up being much larger than Luke. We throw on our boots and winter coats like Zombies and head out into the dark, crisp, Canadian winter morning. To no surprise there is Frost on the window.
So I jump in the car and start it up, turn the defrosters on full blast and grab my ice scraper. Luke climbs into the back seat well I clear the window. Every Canadian knows the sound of the scraper blade sliding across the window. Screeeech.... screeech... screeech... they could pretty much put it into the National anthem. As soon as I have enough of the window clear that I can see out, I jump back into the car and crank the heat to my feet.
"Time to roll" I say to Luke.
No response as he is still half asleep.
I turn up the radio which is already on the "all Christmas all the time" station and
Grandma got run over by a Reindeer comes on. Luke has never heard this song before, but he thinks it is funny and it helps wake him up a bit. A crank up the volume and start headed to the rink.
"Don't forget about Tim Hortons dad" Luke blurts out from the backseat as he sees the sign glowing on the side of the road. Again, if you are from Canada then you know this sign well. It is a cult classic up here. There are never less than 3 cars in the drive through line (even at 6:30am). They mainly sell coffee and donuts but also have a menu full of soups and sandwichs.
We pull up and order a large coffee with 2 milk, an apple juice, one raspberry filled powdered donuts, and a pack of 20 Timbits. Timbits are a bit like Dunkin Donuts doughnut holes but way better.
I pull up to the window, grab our food and pull off into the dark. During the next 10 minutes while driving to the rink not much in said in our car. Luke inhales his doughnut while getting white powder all over his face (with a huge smile) and I get my much required caffeine dose from chugging down my coffee.
We pull up to the rink and find a really nice parking spot since we are the first ones on the ice. We get out of the car and gather up our gear. A few "good mornings" are said as we walk by other parents on thier way into the rink... actually they are more like caveman grunts with a nod of the head.
We get into the dressing room and I pile 20 pounds of gear on my 40 pound child while he and I both eat some Timbits.
There are 40 kids in Lukes group and almost all of them show up. The ice is fresh and waiting as it was flooded the night before. The parents walk there kids to the door and let them loose out onto the reflective service. The kids take off like a fish being release back into the lake. The first 5 to 10 minutes is just a free skate where the kids smile and play and skate around like animals in the wild. The parents all stand at the glass staring in at their kids having fun while sipping on their hot Tims coffees.
And this my fellow Steemians , is an average Canadian Saturday morning....
Darryl (@dadview) is a loving husband and father who enjoys spending time with his family no matter the activity.
He is an active member of steemparents and teamcanada
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