Ice hockey and a proud mama

On Saturday, Will played ice hockey.  I actually wouldn't call it playing.  It was like an introduction to ice skating for him...with pads....and a stick...and a huge helmet.  It was bring your buddy to skating day and a buddy invited Will along.  He was excited a month ago when I asked him.  But then the Olympics were on and the people were crashing on the ski slopes and the previews for hockey were pretty intense and so when Saturday came, he wasn't so excited.  He was mean and mad and didn't want to go.  But, I made him and off he went.  Rob said it took them an entire hour to get him in the gear (which was head to foot ice hockey gear) and then the stood in line at the door to the ice rink waiting for the Zamboni to finish icing down the rink.  Can you imagine the thoughts that go through a 5 year olds head as they are waiting in line with people they don't know in gear that is foreign to them with his parents sitting across the way waving and smiling like idiots.  I'd be freaked out.  i'd run away and probably cry.  I bet that's what Will wanted to do.  but he didn't he waited in line and when he stepped out on the ice...he fell.  along with 65 other 'midgets'.  I wasn't there but rob said it was like a dog pile of little people!  
And when he finally got up...he spent most of the next two hours down.  Like that picture above.  Ice skating is HARD!  no toe picks, no stoppers, no brakes like on roller skates.  Just plain ole hard.  But Will kept trying.  He would fall, get back up and no kidding...fall again.  He'd get back up and then fall again.  His job was to go back and forth on the ice to get used to the skates.  At one point he ended up like this:

That's him on his back leaning up against the wall.  At first I thought it was ok because that kid next to him (on the right) was laying down too...but that 'kid' was a bag of equipment that never moved.  oops!  Will would fall and then get back up and when he made it to the wall...he'd rest.  Then he'd get back up.  At another point, he took to crawling because the number of falls was in double digits.  So of course crawling seemed like a better idea (on a side note, on a trip to Whistler rob was snowboarding and he thought the hill was too steep so he crawled down -- maybe not crawled but we walked.  like father like son!  love you honey!!!!) 
In that picture above, he's crawling to the wall to say hi to me.  He gets there, reaches for the wall, pulls himself up and then falls.  So he lays on his back, looks up at me with a smile and says he thinks he's crying because there are tears on his cheeks.  Just sweat my dear!  lots and lots of sweat.  

I was so proud of Will on saturday.  like getting choked up proud of him because I'll be damned if I would have ever gotten out there on that ice.  I'd be in the bar with a drink in hand laughing at the rest of them still trying.  But there he was, fall after fall getting up and trying it again, and again, and again.  And he wanted to stop.  If he could have skated to a door, he probably would have stopped but it was just too far to go.  So he kept trying.  I had to leave early to take addi to dance but Rob said by the end he was skating.  like actually going a foot without falling and he got to hit hockey pucks and balls into the goals.  And he was so excited!  When i got home his hair was all messed up and when i ran my fingers through it it was that gross sweaty hair where it looks ok but feels like straw because of the salt in it.  He was grinning ear to ear saying he wanted to go again.  If only us adults had that perseverance, that ability to fall and get back up over and over with people watching, mom and dads laughing and others all around you doing it 10x better.   You go buddy!