See, I told you there's no moping in hockey

It's interesting how different open hockey is at different rinks. Mind you, I'm basing this assessment on the incredibly large sample of two, count 'em, two rinks I've played open hockey on, but it seems to be the general rule, judging by other peoples experiences as well. This morning I played at the rink where my league games are. I hadn't been playing open hockey there because the few times I did go (at night), I didn't like the general atmosphere. I'm fine with everyone being scary good. It's the attitude I didn't like. But, because of the holiday, some of the Hawks and I were able to take advantage of the rink's usual Monday morning game. Evidently there is a group of guys who have been playing there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for some time. In addition to them, there were a handful of other people no doubt there because of the weekday off, and us.

It was a very fast, very exciting, yet basically friendly game. It was a little more physical than I'm used to but it wasn't chippy, and it lacked the attitude that the Friday and Saturday night games can take on. It was great to see that the Hawks really held their own, myself included. In fact I think I played very well. I was in the zone, I was pumped, and I was making lots of saves. I was so jacked up that I could have played for another hour when the buzzer sounded.

What really had me walking on air was a conversation I had with one of the regulars on the bench. During one of my rotations off the ice, he asked me when else I usually played, and mentioned that his group could really use me during their morning games. Since I have to be at work at 8:30, it's not practical for me to come all the time, but I certainly could swing a late morning once in a while, and make up the time at the end of the day. Especially if I know it's a good group to play with. It's probably not that big a deal, but the fact that I know these guys were complimenting me on the bench, and that he asked me to join them, made me feel really good. Any goalie is better than no goalie at open hockey, so I'm not getting too carried away, but it does feel nice to be invited to play somewhere. Since we have a ridiculously long layover between our last game and our next game (not until Sept 17th!) I may take him up on the offer, at least this week.

I keep waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up from this dream I'm having. I seriously feel guilty for having this much fun. Not only have I discovered something I love doing, but it's something my husband loves as well, so we're free to indulge ourselves as much as we want, without feeling like we're neglecting the other. It's an expensive hobby, but we manage to afford it. We don't have kids, so being out of the house several nights a week is no concern. And speaking of "the house", we rent, so we don't have the obligation to stay home and fix the bathroom, or paint the living room, or any of those homeowner related things that suck up funds and time. We do want to own a house at some point, but right now we're content with being able to play this much hockey, time and money wise. I'm sure our priorities will shift at some time in the future but right now I'm enjoying the ride.