Ten to eleven p.m. on a Tuesday night and I’m in a rink at the end of the first practice of the year. August 17 and here I am in shorts and a windbreaker noting the familiar chill of the glass. The last ice time of the night as it turns out. Rink rats are out scraping down the remnants of the day. The Boy will likely be last out of the dressing room if past history is any indication. One kid is out already and wondering how mine can take another 1/2 hour, which will be par for the course. But I know all too well from my own experience how chit chat, showers and shenanigans get in the way of doing sleepy parents a favour. And what matter since there are still a couple of weeks of Summer vacation left so tomorrow he can sleep in till all hours of the morning if he likes. But this does set a bad precedent for the year to come…or so I thought as the Boy sauntered out with a couple of his teammates only 15 minutes after practice ended. And so maybe this is the dawn of a new season where we’re not the last out the door…or maybe, and more likely, this is just an early season anomaly designed to give me the faint hope of quick rink departures. I’ll reserve judgment until after the next practice later this week. Good nite for now. #imahockeydad