Hockey Mom Hangs Up the Skates

Well sports fans, I've proscrastinated as long as possible but HM has had to come to the difficult decision to hang up the skates. I'm hanging the "Closed" shingle out on Musings of a Hockey Mom after almost four fabulous seasons covering the Capitals and youth hockey. For those of you who've followed me along this journey (I am sending you all great big virtual thank you hugs right now), you know that I'm a single working mom of teenage twin boys - who travel far and wide with hockey, lacrosse and now golf. As the much as I loved this blog and the outlet it's provided, several realizations hit me over the course of this season, the main one being that unfortunately, I no longer have the time to dedicate to provide the type and frequency of posts that I feel Caps fans deserve. The second realization (in addition to increased responsibilities at my full-time job and adding one more sport to the mix in golf), is that the aforementioned boys are starting high school this fall. When they say kids grow up fast, believe it - I cannot comprehend that I only have four more years with the boys in the house :(  That said, I want to spend as much time as I can with them because I'm sure it will fly by.

So it's with a very heavy heart that I say goodbye. My passion for the Capitals and this blog has taken me places I never thought I'd go and actually helped me get through some tough times in my personal life. I'd like to think my blog provided a unique (and snarky) voice amongst the many who do such an outstanding job in covering our beloved Capitals. During my time in the press box, I've met so many wonderful people and have become fast friends with many including the gang at On Frozen Blog, Storming the Crease, Homer McFanboy, Capitals News Network, Ed Frankovic, Caps Girl and so many others who I will miss seeing on game nights. And countless thanks to Japers Rink for the link love over the years as well. Through my involvement with Scarlet Caps, I've met so many awesome women whose passion for the Capitals and the NHL is contagious.

In addition to my awesome readers, I also owe the growth of this blog and the opportunities it presented to the Capitals organization, starting with Ted Leonsis. I also want to send a heartfelt thanks to former Caps Communications guru Nate Ewell as well as Paul Rovnak, Kelly Murray and Sergey Kocharov for all of their assistance and support. I'd also like to thank the Caps' marketing staff for letting me share my love for the game as an integral part of their women's initiative.

I hope that someday soon, I'll be able to see the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup (meanwhile, am rooting for my second team, the Canucks this year). I've loved every minute and every pixel that went into Musings of a Hockey Mom and I will always adore this team. But now I'll be watching from the stands and waving to my pals up high in the press box. So as I ride my zamboni into the sunset, I thank you all again for your patronage and if you see me at a game, the rink or the yoga studio (I have to have some stress relief with twin boys in high school, right), be sure to say hi!