The Beauty and The Beast

A Game Day Routine

Game days! The excitement, the stress, the rituals, and the fun. To me personally, game days are something I look forward to all week. I find them the most exciting part. I love putting on my favorite shoes, filling up a glass of wine with the other ladies, and most importantly watching my boyfriend do what he loves. I can’t be the only one finding myself wrapped up in my own routine for game days. While my boyfriend has his nap down to the second and his food already perfectly plated out in his mind every single game day, I have realized that my hair somehow always gets done while he is napping, my make up always gets put on while he is eating his pregame meal, and my shoes seem to get picked out just around the same time as his. This has all led to my own little game day routine. 

We all know when it comes to being a professional athlete, game day routines are important. I have noticed over the years a few things that my boyfriend will always make sure gets done on a game day. One being the nap. We all know about the nap. It is the most important part. Don't ever wake the bear during the nap either, then comes the beast. I always tend to laugh at myself on days I choose not to nap with him. I am literally tiptoeing around the apartment, Gilmore Girls is always at the lowest possible volume to just barely be able to hear Lorelie ask Luke for another cup of coffee, and I ever so lightly make myself lunch in the kitchen. It's comical the steps I will take to make sure it's the best nap ever on every single game day. The next thing that always seems to be done on game days are the meals. Game day meals...they always seem to be the same eh? At least for me in this case I can't ever make the wrong thing. When he arrives back from morning skate he will either want a big breakfast or a sandwich. Whichever he chooses the other is what's for post nap. Easy peasy! Surprisingly even though my boyfriend is a goalie, he actually doesn't have any strange or out of the ordinary superstitions with game days. He keeps it simple. Skate, eat, nap, eat, put on that snazzy suit, make a coffee, and off to the rink. 

Now for myself, my routine looks a little different while my boyfriend naps. Like I said before Gilmore Girls is always on, I always have two glasses of iced coffee (really big glasses lol), and I always do my hair during this time. I like to think I will actually be ready on time if I get my hair done before we even think about leaving the house but that's still a rare occasion, am I right? This is prime me time. I will even put a face mask on, do my eyebrows, and whip up a fun snack for the girls pre game hang out. And let's not forget to mention the pre game hang out!! I think this is such a fun thing to do before games, and I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by a bunch of amazing women over the years to share this time with. I love getting to actually have girl talk over a glass or few glasses of wine, and even sometimes too much titos. Nothing like a bunch of girls in one room chatting it up and having fun before heading to the rink to all watch their guys do what they do best. In those moments it's so clear to me that I am not the only one in this crazy situation of life. I am not the only one who picks up and travels to a new place every couple of months. I am not the only one who never actually knows where they are going or when they will be visiting home. I am not the only one that is constantly meeting new people and trying to connect to make new friends. I am not the only one. I am not alone, and that itself makes it all worth it. 

I have learned to really cherish the moments in this lifestyle, like game day routines. They may seem small but it is the little things of this life I really enjoy. Every home game I drive my boyfriend to the rink. Even though I don't need to be at the rink until hours after he does, I still drive him. We both really enjoy this part. We get to jam out in the car together to whatever pump up playlist seems right for that game. It actually puts us both in the best mood for the rest of the night, win pending obvi. Once I drop him off it's one more “good luck buddy” and our little handshake we have been doing since the early days of our relationship. These are the moments of the routine I hold closest to my heart. I suggest to really start looking at the small parts of this lifestyle like game day rituals. Find the little things that bring you joy and cherish them. I promise it will ease some of the hard parts. When you look back on it all the game day naps, the tiptoeing around the house, the pre game with the girls, the jam sesh ride to the rink, and the little handshake will make you smile. This will make you want to do it all over again and again (maybe).