26.1.13

Post #11: Until Next Time...


I’m always saying that I am blessed with a wonderful family. Kevin’s side, my side, my friends-that-might-as-well-be-family side. From all angles, and by all definitions, my “family”, is incredible. (I am not bragging, I am just stating a fact). Evidence in support of this testimony lies within nearly every post I’ve made to this blog. And, here I present to you even more proof that I am blessed with familial amazingness. Reason #102 that my family rocks: They will come to visit us, wherever we are. The capital of Rhode Island, a college town in New Hampshire, a Cape house in Massachusetts, a commuter town in the center of Connecticut, a small village in northern Italy. And, most recently, a big city in the middle of the United States. We’ve been in Wichita for less than five months, but we’ve already had three sets of visitors. AND, a fourth set will be arriving soon! Thank you, loved ones, for being as mobile as we are. Your visits are a special part of these hockey life adventures.  Memories like these will hold us over until next off-season when we will get to spend tons of quality time with you because we will likely be crashing on your couches! J

Watching some hockey with Nanny & Guy Mor 

Snuggling with Gramma

Hanging out with AunTee
Next up, Barbara and Steve. See you both soon!

7.1.13

Post #10: Second is the Best


One week into the New Year brings me one week into Kevin’s two-week long road trip. No matter where we’ve played, the hockey season always picks up as the Holiday season winds down. We were very fortunate that this year’s day-after-Christmas game was played at home and so Kevin didn’t have to travel on Christmas. But a decently long home stretch meant only one thing… a long away one was just around the corner. Sure enough, as Brayden, Dylan and I rang in the New Year in Wichita, Kevin did the same from a bus somewhere between Texas and Iowa. I’m pretty sure that I got the better deal.

While I would normally be pretty glum about Kevin being gone for half a month, there’s something else on my calendar to occupy my attention. And I’m not talking about just any calendar. I’m talking about one that was crafted for me by the very person whose visit coincides with the clump of pictures seen here:


If you can’t tell who it is that made this beautiful and thoughtful gift, then maybe what’s written on the back of the calendar will give it away:


Only one person is capable of such a capping off such a thoughtful gesture with this! Yes, ladies and gentleman, my sister is coming to Wichita. So, yes, I miss my husband. But the reprieve from having to miss my sister will definitely make the rest of his roadtrip more bearable. Here’s to a week of doing nothing special, but having fun anyway because I’ll be doing nothing special with Theresa. See you in two DAYS Aun-T!

1.1.13

Post #9: Some Infinities


I am at the point in new motherhood where I have started reading for leisure again. What this really means is that Brayden is at the point in his babyhood where he is finally sleeping through the night (most of the time). And so I (sometimes) have enough energy to read before bed!

Now, let me preface the rest of this post by saying it’s not very often that I find myself in the book recommendation business. This is probably because I usually read books that…

1)    I’m embarrassed to admit I like (ex: Hunger Games)
2)    can be turned into the screenplay of a romantic comedy (ex: Something Borrowed or virtually anything by Nicholas Sparks).

But, lo and behold, a quick, somewhat random purchase from the Amazon best-seller list was a book outside of these categories. And it was amazing! So, here I am, recommending it.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, is an absolutely incredible novel. I’m no book critic, so I’m not quite sure how to describe it without giving everything away. Suffice it to say that it is deep without being difficult to understand, sad without being depressing, romantic without being cheesy, and inspiring without being cliché.  It is a love story of sorts, but also just a beautiful perspective of life (and death). Ultimately, the writing helped me to know the characters personally… and I loved them.

The author provides plenty of:

clever narrative…
“”I had a moral opposition to eating before dawn on the grounds that I was not a nineteenth-century Russian peasant fortifying myself for a day in the fields”

thought-provoking ideas…
“some infinities are bigger than other infinities”

lovely emotion-driven dialogue…
“You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are.”

I guess if I were to select one of the overarching themes it would be, “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world”. The characters in the story would consider this phrase an embroidery-worthy Encouragement. Regardless, it truly is a beautiful sentiment. One, I believe, that’s worth basing a story on. One worth leaving clean laundry unfolded and dirty dishes unwashed until it’s been read. Enjoy!