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!
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| Getting Ready for the Flight! |
