If you are human, the hockey season can feel long. One week blends into the next, and one rink parking lot starts to look like every other one. As days grow dark more quickly, a 6 a.m. practice can feel like it must be a 10 p.m. practice. You are not alone.
I have to be honest for a moment though. I grew up in the prairies, and now live downtown Vancouver. If I wrote this article about how unbearably long and cold a Canadian winter seems, I’d only be reminiscing. I’m pretty sure most Vancouver natives go through the November to March months not realizing the rest of our fellow Canadians are digging themselves out of driveways, starting cars 15 minutes before they leave the house, and plugging in their cars. I still have to explain that one to my wife Tara. She always wonders if people get their extension cords stolen. I tell her, “Well I don’t think so? Why would someone steal an extension cord?” The onset of the winter grind is as diverse as our country’s landscape.
Here in Vancouver, it’s the gloominess that gets everyone down. If they say it’s the cold, while they are running errands in a sweater, they are just complaining! A great team and family bonding exercise in Vancouver would be searching for sunshine.
Here’s my recipe:
Day: Saturday afternoon
Place: Mount Seymour, or equivalent, above the low clouds of my city
Invitees: Players, parents, siblings, friends
Event: Snowshoeing
Time required: 2 hours
Equipment needed: Warm clothes, rental show shoes from Mountain Equipment Co-op or equivalent, water, sandwich, sunglasses.
It’ll cure whatever ails you, every time.
