On the topic of my children (as I take Thanksgiving away from energy posts), my youngest plays AAA hockey which, like all competitive sports, is time consuming, money draining and at times, heartbreaking.

In the coaches eyes, he is comfortably the least great D-man and therefore has the best seat in the house for the last 8 minutes or every game. No complaints from me: Sports are a meritocracy judged by the coach and/or results. You can pout or get better. So 2 mornings a week we are up at 5 am driving across the city for lessons, alongside 4 practices.

After a heartbreaking OT loss in LA yday, one of his teammates was upset that he missed a shot and didn’t score. To be clear ‘he’ was not my son. My son saw it from the bench. How did my son react? He was consoling his teammate.

One of his other teammates said “No one cares what you think. You never play.” For a 12 year old in a group of peers and your self identity is the sport- that would have been hard for an adult to deal with, much less a child.

His answer: “If you don’t think I’m working my butt off to improve, you’re as stupid as I thought you were.”

Life is hard. And at times unfair. But I’m proud of him for his heart. His leadership. And his philosophy (which is ‘I’d rather peak at 22 than 12’).