Le Patin Final

Breakthrough Moment
Exactly one week ago I fell through the Four-em ice, all the way down to its liner. I stood there with boots submerged in 8 inches of icy water thinking two things: "My feet are really cold" and "The season is now over." The temperature was warm (near 60 degrees) and a snowstorm was only two days away - that's a deadly combination when you have a rink in your backyard in New England in late February.

Bouncing Back
However, ice is a lot like life - it continually surprises me with its fragility and its resiliency. In one week's time I patched the area of my misstep, shoveled a foot of snow off its surface, and was able to make the ice smooth again. I spent several nights coating it with hot water, letting it freeze, and then repeating the process all over again. It was an awful lot of work and I wasn't even sure if we would have the time to use the Four-em ice again - our schedule and the afternoon sun impose strict limitations. Looking at the long-range forecast I knew that time was rapidly running out on winter and on our backyard rink season.

Early Bird Special
First thing Thursday morning, before school, the kids and I took to the Four-em ice for our final skate. The air was frigid but the strong morning sun peeked around our house and warmed the air at one end of the rink; making us slightly more comfortable and serving as a harbinger of things to come. We were deliberate in our skating, partly because of the cold but also - I think - because we were determined to squeeze every second out of the ice before it began melting. As we passed the puck around there was a quiet concentration hanging in the air. It served as a backdrop to the sound of our sticks slapping against the puck and our skates crunching into the ice. Caroline, Danny, and I hardly said a word.


Language Arts
To me, that is the beautiful thing about the game of hockey. There can be constant interaction and communication between skaters and yet never a word spoken: Leading someone with a pass is just like leading a conversation, sending someone in a certain direction and watching them willingly follow; Catching up with the puck can be just like catching up with an old friend, appreciating where you both were and wondering where both of you will be going from here; and finishing off a play with a teammate can be as symbiotic as finishing the sentence of a person you know well, appreciating the chemistry you share and how it makes your relationship special. If all of the skaters in the game are on the same page you can write a damn good story on your sheet of ice; and that's just what Caroline, Danny, and I did for our final skate of the season.

Closing The Book
So, another chapter has been written on the Millin Four-em ice and it's time to close the book on the winter of 2008/2009; our best and busiest season of skating so far. There were lots of new faces this year and some familiar ones as well; always getting along and always having fun while making their memories. When it was time to take Caroline and Danny to school after our final skate we met at center ice and said 'goodbye' to the rink in our traditional way; a perfect punctuation mark to our final entry - until we open the book again next season.

Dedicated to My Ice
Much has been written here about Jack Falla. A friend of mine read Jack's book, "Home Ice" not too long ago and described it as, 'A good read but not life changing or anything.' But for me it was - not dramatically so, but it most definitely was. I tried thinking of a unique way to 'dedicate' the season to Jack's memory but anything I came up with seemed hokey and too contrived. Instead, I will continue dedicating myself to my rink and to the people who use it; just as Jack did when he was alive. To some that too may seem hokey but to me it sounds perfect.