Thanksgiving week. The house is a disaster zone: dishes piled high, leftovers crammed into the fridge, and decorations half-falling off the mantle. And you know what? I let it be. Because when you’re a hockey mom, the holiday chaos doesn’t end with turkey and pie. It rolls right into a Friday-Saturday-Sunday tournament out of town.
And of course, the decision of whether to stay in a hotel or drive back and forth fell into the laps of the moms. Because apparently, remembering dinner schedules, shoe sizes, and who packed the shin guards isn’t enough mental load. The dads and coaches couldn’t decide, so I pulled the trigger: hotel it is. Save the drive time, save the sanity. Sometimes you just have to make the call….
Fast Forward: The Championship Game
Saturday night, we played this team and won 7–2. But don’t let the score fool you; it felt like a one-goal game. Every shift was a battle, every puck contested. That’s the kind of hockey you love and want to see. Win or no win.
Sunday rolls around. Championship game. Same team. Only this time, they weren’t playing hockey: they were playing dirty. Cross-checks, hooks, trips, targeting the girls instead of the puck. These are eight-year-olds. And the worst part? Their parents and coaches were cheering it on.
We lost 0–1 in the final seconds. And honestly, the score wasn’t what had me pissed. My hockey mom friends weren’t mad about the loss either. We were furious because we saw what bad parenting and coaching looks like. We saw adults teaching kids that winning at any cost, even at the expense of safety, is acceptable.
The Real Lesson: Resilience and Integrity
Here’s the thing: I’ll take a loss any day if it comes from playing real hockey. From battling hard, respecting the game, and leaving it all on the ice. What I won’t accept is celebrating dirty play.
Our kids learned something bigger that day. They learned resilience; not just in bouncing back from a tough loss, but in recognizing that how you play matters more than the scoreboard. They saw firsthand that character counts. That integrity is worth more than a medal.
And as moms, we’ll keep carrying the mental load, the hotel bookings, the shoe sizes, and yes, the messy houses. Because we’re not just raising hockey players; we’re raising resilient, respectful humans.
Raising leaders, chasing goals, and occasionally losing my mind.
Raising Resilience Daily 
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