It’s been 50 days since the Stanley Cup was awarded, and it’s 57 days until the Stars open Training Camp. This is my least favorite time of the year.
It reminds me of driving across the Causeway over Lake Ponchartrain to New Orleans. The bridge is so long, that for about eight miles, you can’t see anything but water. Neither bank is visible. I’ve driven across it a couple of times and at first it seems perfectly manageable, then when I lose sight of the shore in my rear view mirror and there’s still no sign of the shore in front of me, my mind starts to play tricks on me. I start to get all existential.
That’s what this time of year does to me. I’ve left the comfort of the buzz from the playoffs now. But the new season is so far ahead that I can’t even start to think about it. So I start thinking about my life and future and work and people and all the stuff I can easily ignore during hockey season. It’s not fun for me.
Update: I’ve had this song in my head all day, and every time it starts over, I think of this Staples commercial from a few years back and it makes me giggle.
The lack of anything hockey-related makes me hyper-aware of the offseason. It’s usually kind of busy with news right after the playoffs. There’s the Draft (which was much more fun this year than it ever has been before), then free agency. Now that most of the free agency questions have been settled, it’s nothing but cricket sounds.
At this point there’s still just as much of the offseason left as I’ve passed. The cricket sounds just get louder and more annoying from here on out.
Add to that, the other things that make me miserable in July and August:
-Crushing heat. Burned up lawn. No sign of rain. And crushing heat.
-Cowboys season is about to start. This might actually be the worst part. Just as the hockey news slows to a trickle, stupid football is starting to get rolling.
-Absolutely nothing good on TV to make up for the lack of hockey games. Well, maybe not “absolutely.” I have found a couple of fascinating shows, but most of the time those shows aren’t on.
-My birthday’s coming up. I’m plenty old enough to be dreading birthdays.
All this work I’ve done to make it to this point, and I’m only halfway there.
Oh my god — the Causeway over Ponchartrain is the PERFECT analogy for the offseason! We actually flew over it on our way into N.O. two weeks ago, and even on a plane it goes on interminably.
I had not considered that we’re only at the halfway point. This summer has been going surprisingly smoothly for me, but I’m worried my calm about it is going to crumble with no warning any minute now. Last night we were going through our archives and discovered we didn’t reach our breaking point until August 12. That’s… still a ways away. Hm. Very, very discouraging.
So I start thinking about my life and future and work and people and all the stuff I can easily ignore during hockey season. It’s not fun for me.
:^::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: But you also get to plan for houseguests in October! :D
But you also get to plan for houseguests in October! :D
So true! That might be the thing that saves me!
ugh, I feel ya sister! I hate the summer. And this summer has just been full of anxiety and angst. I can’t wait for cooler weather of fall, and the new hockey season to start. But than that means school will be back in session, and I don’t have my syllabus together in the least.
AHHHH!
Ugh. The Lake Ponchartrain Bridge. I hate that thing. Excellent analogy. I hate mid-off-season. I have my jersey, the schedule is out, I want it to start now. The end of July is always bad for me because I realize we have at least 6 more weeks of this nasty heat. Now I have to wait for hockey to start, too. :(
Oh and I hate when the Cowboys Training Camp starts, too.
Patty, I hear ya! The frustrating thing for me is that until I got into hockey, summer was always my favorite time of year. I still love summer, but now it’s also filled with this weird listless longing.
Myra and Kate, my first hockey off-season was pret-ty strange. I had no idea what to do with myself. I had lost touch with all my TV shows. And some of my friends (just kidding). I actually watched baseball for a few years.
I hear ya. I’ve been watching the Rangers a lot with Hub. Luckily, they don’t totally stink this year. I can almost name all the players and their positions. Scary.