Monday, April 11, 2011

The A-Z Challenge is ICY

I'm going for simply today. When thinking about the letter I, Ideas and Inspirations first came to mind. I've written many posts about what inspires our writing. I'm kind of a sap like that. I've also explored where ideas come from and how to formulate them. (Gosh, love it when I sound smart. Trust me; it's all a facade.)


But there's one 'I' word that melts my heart above all others. Ice. I.C.E.

Son #2, Jake, helping out our youngest, CJ.
I am an Ice hockey mom. It's one of those labels that describes who I am as a person. Other moms out there know we wear many hats. We are tagged with many titles. This is one I am proud to wear.

My dad was a youth hockey coach back in the days when most rinks were outside. When a local rink was built, hockey practices were usually before the crack of dawn and games where at the same ungodly hours. My younger brother played. So basically I was a rink rat.

Nothing changed as I moved into Motherhood.

It was only natural for me to introduce my children to the game of ice hockey. And yes, they all love it. Devotion to my kids and ultimately the game has helped mold the person I am today. I've sacrificed much--and yes, have been frozen on many occasions. For me, it's all been a part of growing-up-Sheri.

And if you take a gander over to Adventures That Score, you'll find Kris Yankee--another hockey mom!

Links to other participants
Do you have an activity or family tradition so ingrained within your psyche that it's influenced who you are as a person? How can we as writers achieve this kind of depth with our characters?

30 comments:

  1. I love this "I"! The only deep family tradition we had was reading, but it was something we all did together. And when we get together now, we all gather around while my dad reads something (he's pretty dramatic and funny). But I think you have a great point when you mention imbuing our characters with these types of histories--it does make them more real and three-dimensional.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey there fellow ICE Hockey Mom! Ice hockey is so engrained in my life that it has become a part of my writing. My main characters always play hockey and usually implements the lessons they've learned on the ice to their own experiences. I think because I spend so much time at the rink, it's natural for me to include this part of my real life in my writing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay! Keep at it Sheri, already on the letter 'I' My kids snowboard, no hockey. In the winter they do indoor track. Mom hates the cold *wink*

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can so relate. I didn't have anything like that as a kid. But my daughter joined a swim team this last Fall and she is good at it so it's taking a TON of time getting her to her 2 1/2 hour practices 4 times a week and going to her swim meets. I give up a lot of time I'd devote to writing sitting at meets. But it's so awesome to see how she's working and improving & keeping up with the kids doing this since they were 8 (she'll be 14 this week), so it's my pleasure to do as her mom.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My brother played ice hockey so I was a rink rat too. Love the game. Nice and fast to keep my attention. Great word for the letter.
    I'm trying to think on how to answer your second question, but I'm still waking up. Sorry.
    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's really cool that you play hockey and they you encourage your kids to do the same.

    I'd say music is ingrained in my family tradition; art is ingrained in my husbands.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's great that your whole family have played Hockey. There is a hockey family of six down our street, they all play it's awesome. We're a bit new in Canada to be hockey mad as yet. I still miss rugby from being in NZ. I used to be Tae Kwon-Do crazy and my two yr old likes kicking, maybe she'll follow in my footsteps.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am a gamer. I have six computers one for each kid, myself, and my wife. I have taught them the art since they were babies. I love to game it is what we do for fun. We sit together and play board games or guild wars or fun old card games.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think I may be a rugby step-mom. We'll see when we get to the letter "r." And good for you getting the kids into sports! Yay! Yes, my family has tons of traditions--but most are food/holiday related...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great "I" post! Hmmm, do we have traditions ingrained in our family? I think so, but there are so many little ones I guess they amount to a family's worth of different things!

    BTW, I have that exact roll of green ribbon on the right in my sewing box. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ah, yes - I was a "rink rat" as a kid too. We have a skating rink in our quonset that we use all winter, it's so fun to use as a family!

    ReplyDelete
  12. For me, it's baseball! I'm so excited because my daughter moved from T-ball to little girl softball this year. I have all three kids playing ball this year and I love it!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good for you for continuing the tradition of hockey. My family liked to camp, but I'm afraid I'm the indoor type. You know - bugs and all that!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I guess around here I'm 'the american mom'. I teach english to my daughter's first grade class once a week and all her friends and their parents know me that way.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love you passing this on to your sons! It is in your blood~ I would say movies, boating and hiking... Fun to read!

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's a fun family tradition. Mine is music, sitting at the piano day after day, plunking out "Here we go, up a row, to a birthday party." Yours sounds like a lot more fun.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I do miss skating, hockey, and ice. There's not so much for it over here!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Aw, I love that tradition. My family love traveling, so I'd say that's our tradition. Oh, and watching It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That's so cool. That's great that your family has a sport that is still practiced in the third generation. What a lovely family bond.

    I never had that, I skated, but figure skated. A whole other scene.

    I do love to watch ice hockey though. It's the only sport I attend.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the pics! :)

    I'm a fellow A-Z challenger and new follower. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ice hockey! How very cool.. oh, and I love the new look, btw! Everyone in my fam played baseball or softball but me. I was the nerd who just wanted to read... I don't really make my girls do anything, but I'd love for them to keep dancing. At the moment, they still don't object to ballet lessons. And I know you're a former dancer~ :o) <3

    ReplyDelete
  22. My intro to ice hockey was a semi-pro game in Anchorage, and I loved the action. The game itself is still interesting, but players fight too much.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Yeah, mine is called, "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???" tee hee! I love that you're a hockey mom (and that it's ingrained)!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. that's so cool you support your kids and their sports. my son played basketball and I used to love to go to games and cheer him and his team on. We still watch together :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. hi miss sheri! wow you got everyone doing hockey! how cool is that! i didnt ever play it but i like watching it on tv cause its real fast and exciting.
    ...hugs from lenny

    ReplyDelete
  26. Despite loving in hockey loving Canada and having two boys, I've managed to escape being a hockey mom. :D

    ReplyDelete
  27. Icy hockey is huge in our area. I considered putting my older son in it, but he already has enough commitments like soccer and karate. But I say "Yay!" for hockey moms!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Juggling is a common bond in my family. It catches our attention at least, although I guess most of us are nowhere near as passionate about the topic as my father was.

    For our characters I think it's good to develop in our minds a thorough background of who they are and where they came from. It doesn't all have to appear in the story we are telling but the knowledge will be helpful for us to understand the characters more and flesh them out better.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out
    Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge

    ReplyDelete
  29. Okay, this one is so dorky . . . but, Scrabble. Scrabble, Scrabble, Scrabble. My family loves that one. :P

    Love your blog! I've had so much fun wondering around!

    D

    ReplyDelete
  30. @Kris - HI!!

    @Dawn - That is not dorky. I love it!!

    @Lee - Great point.

    @Lenny - Hee....

    ReplyDelete

!SPLAT Your Awesomeness! I'd love to hear from you!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

MY STATS