I grew up in the Ottawa Valley and when I was a kid we had snow - lots of it. My mom has a photo of the three of us kids (myself, my brother and sister) sitting on top of the swing-set in the backyard with our legs out straight. Yes, a real swing-set!   I am sure that was one of those record setting years but the point is that when I was a kid there was snow in the winter!

Now that I am grown I remember the winter fun we had and feel a bit like my kids have missed out a bit. Up until a few years ago our area of Ontario didn’t really get much in the way of a winter - a bit of snow but not enough to really have fun (we don’t ski) just playing in the backyard. Of course this all seems to be changing - is it global warming? I don’t know but it seems in the past two years we have had more snow than my kids have seen their entire lives. And I hear we are getting more!

So, to celebrate more snow my photo of the day today was…. a big pile of snow! When I asked the kids to jump in the photo they did with excitement. In fact my son had to get to the top of the pile! Now, this pile is not like the one from my childhood, I believe a big truck played a part in the height, even still we will always remember the fun of lots of snow.

I love the excitement of a good hockey game, especially if my kids and our friends’ kids are playing. Being the wife of a governor (just hockey!) you tend to be at the rink preparing for events long before everyone else arrives, sometimes before the lights are turned on. I love looking out over the ice - noone in the stands, not a sound in the arena. Peace - the calm before the storm. On this morning, as I looked out over the empty ice surface I knew that the day held promise. Our daughter was playing in her first wrap-up game and our son would be soon learn that he and a good friend would share the honor of MVP for the 07/08 hockey season. And kids aside, my husband, who spends countless hours organizing, phoning, talking, and planning would say goodbye to another season of house league. As much as I know he is looking forward to the rest this will bring, I know how much he loves his time at the rink and the feeling he gets from the smiling faces that come and go each week.

If you asked me ten years ago if I would be a hockey mom I would have said NO! But, as it turns out, being a hockey mom is ok. We love the game, our kids love the game. You have to love that!

Helen