GERMANY – It’s a story anyone familiar with the hockey world has heard before. We came, we saw, and then… the team was kicked out of the league and we were sent packing back to the United States with our tails between our legs.
But really, that story is so last year.
This season we will re-enter German hockey with one goal in mind; to make it an entire season before we get Das Boot. And hopefully win a few games along the way while we’re at it. People may wonder why it is that we insist on playing overseas. My husband prefers European hockey over North American hockey for a variety of reasons; not the least of which being the level of contact. As he gets older he becomes more aware of the toll hockey takes on his body. For him, less fighting and hitting along with fewer games and road trips mean the chance to feel better and play longer.
But we’ve all heard the hockey player’s perspective before. We know why he wants to be there. The real question becomes: what’s in it for me?
You know, besides all the glamour and prestige.
The truth is that I spent the bulk of the 2010-2011 hockey season wallowing. In the big picture, I didn’t have a lot to complain about; but when it came to hockey, it seemed I could go on and on. I had mixed emotions about European hockey and my heart was never really entirely in it. I tried to be supportive of my husband playing overseas because it was what he wanted. It was his dream. But it was a dream I had a hard time understanding; a dream I never thought I would call my own.
Once we were settled back home in the States though it took me about a minute and a half to realize that living in Europe had really become my dream too. I had fallen in love during Germany 1.0 and I didn’t even know it.
Life abroad can be lonely. It can be overwhelming. It can absolutely leave you exhausted. But if you allow yourself to be open to the experience, it’s amazing how fast you find that life abroad can also be a beautiful opportunity, a chance to experience life outside your comfort zone. To broaden your horizons in ways you never imagined.
That’s what I fell in love with, and that’s what I look forward to the most. The opportunity. The challenge. The exposure to something completely and totally different from what my life is otherwise.
Then there are all the opportunities for our family. The chance my son gets to learn a different language and take in a completely different culture. The ways in which the distance from our friends and family brings the three of us closer together. And the incredible experiences we all get to take away from our time abroad.
During Germany 1.0, I learned that sometimes life gives you exactly what you need. Even when you don’t know you need it. And now, I have to admit – I can’t wait to go back. I can’t wait for Germany 2.0 and the adventures that await us as a family.
A hockey family.
Living the dream overseas.
And me. The hockey wife. Realizing each and every day that there is something in this all for me as well. That without my even noticing it, this has become my dream too.
Germany 2.0.
Here we come!
Contact: hockeywife@adayinthelifeofahockeywife.com
Publisher’s Note : PHN has been following the work of the hockey wife for a year or so and made contact in the last few months. She was invited to participate as a regular contributor to these pages in an effort to give an idea to our readers of life beyond the ice for players and their families. Enjoy.
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