8.10.12

Post #1: Life, Love, and...


After two years in Italy, Kevin’s hockey career is bringing us back “home”. Well, almost “home”. Rather than four thousand miles East over the Atlantic, we are headed 1,500 miles West over America’s heartland. We will be spending the season in quite possibly the last place I ever imagined hockey bringing us… Kansas.

Though arguably a less culturally stimulating destination than Europe, Kansas will give us New Englanders a taste of the Midwest. And while it was exciting to be immersed in a foreign country where we could barely speak the language, I look forward to having some familiar amenities and a simple one-hour time change. There’s also the comfort of being a shorter and cheaper flight away from our loved ones. Which means, much to their delight, they are a shorter and cheaper flight away from the baby.

When we learned we were going to be spending the season stateside, we decided to upsize from Kev’s sedan to an SUV. We had realized during our summer roadtrips that, from a vehicular standpoint, we are actually a five-person family. (Spacewise, the dog and Kevin’s hockey equipment are the equivalent of two human passengers.) We also reasoned that getting the entire family from point A to point B could be best accomplished if we split into two groups. Kevin and the dog would travel by car, and Brayden and I would fly out after they’d settled in. So we packed everything we could cram into our seemingly enormous Toyota Highlander. With a rope fastened to the trunk to ensure it’s overflowing contents wouldn’t force it open mid-trip, Kevin drove off. And without having to stop every two hours for feedings and diaper changes, the first half of my little family finished the trek in only two days. Now, a week later, Brayden and I are getting ready for our flight to meet them…

And so begins our eighth hockey season as a couple, third as husband and wife, and first as parents. With the last mentioned distinction capturing our newest role, it also bears responsibility for the name of this season’s blog. As we make our way to Wichita, I introduce to you to the third edition of our hockey life chronicles: Life, Love, and Diaper Rash. I’m excited to see what awaits us on this next leg of our adventures. Thanks for checking in to come along for the ride!

Getting Ready for the Flight!