The Good Life – November-December 2023

DAD LIFE
Rinks, REWARD POINTS,
& TERRIBLE CELLPHONE RECEPTION
A Typical Hockey Dad's Weekend
WRITTEN BY: PAUL HANKEL
As a hockey dad, I love getting asked the question, “Hey,
what are you up to this weekend?” If funny because,
between the months of November to February, the answer
is almost always the same: “Oh, ya know, the kiddo has a
tournament in *insert a city or suburb in Minnesota*.”
Travel with me as I paint a picture of a typical traveling
sports parent’s weekend, during the season.
Saturday Morning: The Wake-Up Call
You left work early on a Friday, loaded up the family, and
headed out of town for this weekend’s big tournament.
You wake up at 9:00 a.m. in a non-descript Holiday Inn in
Northern Minnesota. Just kidding ... your son’s team lost
the round-robin play-in tournament last night, was seeded
low, and now has to play at 7:00 a.m.
In reality, you’ve been up since 5:00 a.m., pounding coffee,
looking for a missing elbow pad, and frantically charging
your son’s electronic device (for the break in between
games).
You sneak a quick shower in and then herd the entire
family down to the lobby for the free continental
breakfast (gotta save a few bucks somehow).
You show your son the offerings and he proceeds to say,
“Gross,” and, instead, makes a liquid concoction out
of sugar packets and juices from the juice bar. *Sigh*.
Guess you’ll have to settle for soft pretzels and hot
chocolate from the concessions stand at the rink.
You hurriedly shovel in some eggs, apple juice, and a
stale bagel and herd everyone to the car. On the way
out, you stop by the front desk one more time to ensure
that you’re Holiday Inn Express Platinum rewards
points are being properly credited to your account (they
aren’t).
Once everyone is loaded into your car, you shiver as you
type in the address of the rink.
You were too busy being concerned with rewards points
6 | THE GOOD LIFE