Hockey Helmet

Last week, Casey dropped her morning nap and started napping only once a day. And I found myself with so much more time on my hands. I was able to workout for more than 30 minutes at the gym without trying to rush back to the house and get lunch ready and fit in naptime. I was also able to shower at the gym so I didn't waste any precious naptime minutes doing that. We went grocery shopping, got the car detailed, went to Farmer's markets and playgrounds and we did a little shopping. I was finally able to stop by a couple of thrift stores that I have wanted to check out for a while.

I have been reading a lot of blogs where people decorate and make rooms look amazing with some really inexpensive thrift store finds, usually improved with a can of spray paint. It inspired me to try to find some of my own deals but I didn't really have the time until now.

On Friday, Jack, Casey and I headed into the CHKD Thrift store to see what we could find. The kids found a train table that they really enjoyed. It had the train tracks glued on there and Jack was a little disappointed that he didn't have his trains with him. We might not have left the store if he'd brought Molly along. (Molly is his special train, a reward for making the move from pooping in his underwear to using the potty.) Anyway, I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me.

We got to the meager toy section and the kids were poking around on the shelves. Casey pulled a car out and pushed it around the floor. Jack found some lacrosse sticks and wanted to know what they were. And then...Jack found a hockey helmet.

At first glance, it was just a hockey helmet that I was pretty sure would be too big for him. Then I took a second look at it. It was in really good shape and looked like a youth helmet. I'm not even sure it had been worn before. I couldn't tell what size it was, but it was certified until 2011. I was wondering if Jack's head would fit into this helmet before 2011. Then, I saw the price - $2.98. Whether he would ever wear this helmet in any sort of real hockey action no longer needed consideration.

Jack has turned my socks, his socks, wooden blocks, slippers, and plastic bags into hockey skates. He has turned train pieces, bean bags, McDonald's toys and golf balls into hockey pucks. Our hardwood floors are ice. Diego and Nemo push toys are Zambonis. And every time he plays hockey, he straps a pretend helmet onto his head (and anyone who is playing with him).

Buy the child a 3 dollar helmet whether it fits or not!

So, we left the store with Jack's first hockey helmet resting soundly on his head. He claimed that it fit and was very excited because, "Now I don't have to wear a pretend helmet anymore." As we were walking to the car, Jack tripped and fell on his knees on the concrete sidewalk. His already scraped up knee was ripped open again and he was actually bleeding quite a bit. I got him into the car and started to try to clean it up, at which point he told me, "Mommy, my knee really hurts but I didn't hurt my head at all because I had my helmet on."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that he might have noticed the uneven pavement and not tripped if he wasn't wearing a hockey helmet that was too big.