Currently I would consider myself a less than part-time hockey wife. I've been lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. Even when my husband was playing full time I was able to keep my job and therefore have my roots grounded somewhere. The past two years my husband has only been going off to play the end of the season and playoffs so 1-2 months out of the year he's gone and I just stay at home and continue working.
My husband will probably chastise me for writing this but here are some of the things that I consider could be difficult being a full-time hockey wife.
1. Most are away from their friends and families for the entire season.
2. You are FORCED to become friends with the other wives and girlfriends even if they aren't your "cup of tea"
3. For some reason I have noticed a level of competition between wives. Certain teams are worse than others.
4. The fans can be a little overwhelming even though they mean well.
5. The life usually consists of late night games and partying.
6. Some road trips can last up to 2 weeks and so you are left alone in a strange city with friends you "sort of" like without your true friends and family.
7. Groupies... enough said
8. You dread the day that your husband/boyfriend comes home from practice and tells you that he has just been traded and you need to pack up your entire home by the end of the day and drive cross country so that he can practice with his new team the next day. Therefore, having to rush around to all the friends that you DO like crying and saying goodbye only to show up to a team the next day as the "new wife/girlfriend" that everyone ignores.
9. Unless you are lucky enough to play with the same team for a few years in a row you struggle to find a "real" job that will hire you for only 7 months and so end up waitressing, bartending, working in a coffee shop or a retail store.... if you even work at all.
10. When your husband/boyfriend has a bad game... you have a bad game.
I LOVE hockey and grew up loving it and was lucky enough that the year I went with Luke to play I had the most amazing wives and girlfriends on the team. Some of them are still great friends of mine and I love them dearly. Others are not so lucky and I totally feel for them. I do have to add that there are some wonderful things to being a hockey wife/girlfriend.
1. I've been able to travel to some amazing cities such as Manchester, England and Paris, France.
2. I've met some awesome women whom I love to pieces and still keep in touch with. {Looking forward to seeing Ashley, Chad and baby Cayne this weekend!}
3. I've been able to watch lots of hockey... which can be good and bad depending on the day.
4. I've been treated as a VIP at games and never had to pay to park or attend
5. Some teams have great connections with local businesses and so offer wives discounted services.
6. There is a weird connection between hockey wives and girlfriends... you are probably going to run into someone on your new team that played with someone from your old team and therefore you all three now know each other. Currently, I can think of many of these that I have!
In the end, like anything, there are good and bad things about the hockey wife world. I'm just happy to be a part of it. {some days} :)
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| 1st Year, Charlotte, North Caroline Wives/Girlfriends |
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| 2nd Year, Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois Wives/Girlfriends |
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| Luke and I in front of the Louvre in Paris |
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| Eiffel Tower |
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| View from the Eiffel Tower |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Champs Elysees, Paris on New Years Eve |
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| 3rd Year, The street Luke lived on in Manchester, England |
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| 4th Year, Ugly sweater party in Muskegon, Michigan |
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Muskegon Wives/Girlfriends Year 5, The car after we hit a deer on our way to Tulsa, Oklahoma {sorry it's a little morbid, it's the only picture I have} Year 6, Odessa, Texas {no photos} |
Muskegon was my favorite year, even though I never felt well enough to participate, all the wives/gfs were nice...we'd never been on a team with so many children, so it was nice to be in a more family oriented team environment. I get nostalgic for Muskegon, especially in the fall.
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