Hat Trick

So Hayden's in hockey. Twice a week Hayden undergoes this Midwestern rite of passage. Ben wrestles him into an absurd amount of protective gear. The padding serves to protect Hayden when he randomly sits down on the ice. You know, to rest. Sometimes he goes into a full sprawl, spread-eagled. The other kids try to get around him, but no one in his group can exactly skate, so there are a lot of pile-ups. Sometimes the kids scrimmage. They move as a pack (a slow pack) after the puck. Someone swats at it with a stick, usually in the wrong direction. Every once in a while, the puck will dribble into a goal. Hayden often participates in the scrimmages by sitting down. On the ice. He's not grumpy about it. Apparently he just wants to take a breather, or maybe watch the other group of kids play. The coaches have taken to nudging him in the butt with their sticks to get him moving.

The whole thing is pretty comical. But to Big H's credit, he couldn't even really stand when he started, and now he is sort of half-skating. One time he stuck his stick out and even scored a goal. And last week, he didn't sit down once, except when another kid accidentally crashed into him and took out his legs. It's progress, for sure.

Enjoy. Hayden is the kid that is either reclining on the ice, or, when moving, sporting the #10, mismatched socks, and a black helmet.