Ultimate Blog Challenge - My Blog's Backstory

Welcome back to the Ultimate Blog Challenge! Just like last time when I participated in the UBC, on Day 2 we were asked to talk about how we got started in our particular niche or business. 

I was talking about my original blog's name "Confessions of a part-time working Mom". This was almost ten years ago, and my boy was a toddler. Juggling my job, taking care of my sweet son, the house, daycare, etc. was a massive challenge, and frankly I did not have or take enough time to actually blog about these long days. 

Eight years ago, Colin started Hockey School, a program for young kids who want to learn to skate and play the game. It takes place every Wednesday afternoon between late Ocotber and late February. 

Hockey School is a very popular program, and in order to reduce the responsible staff's workload, a handful of U15 players are encouraged to act a junior coaches. So the big boy in the blue jersey is Colin. He took care of a bunch of 4-/ 5-year olds. It was the cutest thing. 

"They are so playful" he told me later. "One kept asking if after hockey practice they may play hide and seek."

In February 2017, after four seasons of hockey school, Colin got accepted to the youth team, and we were delighted and proud. 

That's about when I renamed the blog into what it is today: 

Part-time working Hockey Mom. 

If your kid doesn't make the youth team by age nine, there's nowhere to go from there. 

One of his buddies didn't make it. He left and found another club where he still plays today, and sometimes they see each other when they are opponent teams. 

One of the other Hockey School kids - he was very gifted as in skilled - was picked two years in a row. 

However, both times his Mom said no. 

"I can't drive him three or four times a week, sorry." 

I didn't know them personally, but felt bad for both of them. 

Just like any other boy, he was dreaming of being a hockey star, or at the very least of getting the chance to become one.

The Mom supported her son's passion within her means by taking him to Hockey School a dozen Wednesdays per season.

Once a week sounds very doable, but don't be fooled. You can't just drop your kid and go back to work - or shopping. You have to accompany him to the dressing room and help him put on his gear. It's a lot of gear, and frankly, as a newbie you need to learn and practice yourself!

Then you have to sit at the boards, cheer him on, take pictures and encourage him from afar in case he falls, gets cold or thirsty.... Only to be ready to receive him after 45 minutes and help to take off the wet and smelly equipment, feed him and take him home.

So she was already sacrificing a lot of her time. 

I never saw that kid and his Mom again until two years ago. I was coming back from the city and parked my car near the arena. 

Yes, once the kids are part of the team, there are Moms assigned to locker room duty. They will dress a bunch of kids and tie their skates' laces while the other Moms get to go back to work - shopping. Or grab coffee. Or blog. Or all of the above.

More freedom. 

There's only the drive (50 - 60 minutes per way for us) and the laundry three or four times a week. 

And the planning of your day job and your and your kid's dental, hair and doctor's appointments around the training schedule. 

Oh, and you need to bring sandwiches or cake and man the food stand at home games, pack lunch for away games, have the match cuffs shortened, raise funds for junior sports, and, and, and... 

I created a special role for myself. Since I like to take pictures and always used to film Colin's goals, I grew up to become the team's sports reporter. I spend hours to sort through footage, cut, pick music, upload,...

Anyway, I saw this Mom with her son in the distance. He was wearing some fan gear, and it made me choke up.  

So he was still committed to the team in his own way. 

What's my point? 

Colin was lucky to get rewarded for his persistence, determination and hard work and to have parents who allow and enable him to continue year after year. 

The equipment needs to be replaced almost every season, not only due to his growing out of it, but also it's pretty worn out after an intense 8 - 9 months, which is pricey.

It's not just the parents. It takes employers who grant flexible working hours, so you may leave early and drive your player to practice (this is true for parents and volunteer coaches as well). It takes schools who allow their student athlete to leave early. It takes the lovely people who take a week off to make the annual summer camp happen. It takes the equipment suppliers. It takes the Zamboni driver and other rink staff. It takes the coaches who play such an important role in the kids lives, especially now that they're teenagers. 

In short: there's a lot of people working together to make this happen, and I am so grateful for everyone contributing.

Colin has been lucky to play every single game so far, while others are regularly being benched, or rather left at home. I like to think that his attendance record and his performance on and off the ice are the reason for it.

As long as things go well, I'm happy to play my part. And to blog about it. 

What's your niche / passion? What keeps you writing?

Let me know below. 

PS: As I was saying yesterday, in addition to UBC,  I'm also participating in another round of 20 Days of Chill! 

How does this work? Throughout the month of January, a small group of bloggers will be using pre-announced prompts given by our host, A'lil HooHaa. It's 20 because we'll only post Monday through Friday.

My plan is to combine the two if possible. Otherwise I'll do separate posts. We'll see how it goes. I'll probably be writing day and night and not have a lot of time to visit other blogs, but I'll do my best.