Parenting: 6 a.m. ice time? I must be nuts.

Ice Coach is excited about Ice Girl and her new program, I think. Ice Coach, bless her heart, has found ice time at...6 a.m. on Saturdays to create the program. Ice Coach wants this time because the full sheet of ice is nearly empty at that hour. I'm guessing all the sane parents are at home in bed.

But, I'm excited, too. How cool will it be to have a nearly empty sheet to create the program? Ice Girl doesn't know about the 6 a.m. thing, but when she finds out, she'll be in bed by 7 p.m. and willing herself to sleep.

I'm sure you've spotted the problems, though.

• Starbucks opens at 6. No time to get coffee.
• I don't drink coffee. Damn. I think I need to start.
• Open skate for the middle school crowd is from 7:00 until 9:30 p.m. on Friday nights. Ice, lights, music, sugared soda. It's a big deal for Ice Girl and her friend du jour. I think we'll have to leave at 9, though.
• It's 6-freaking-o'clock-on a Saturday morning. Is the sun even up?
• Ice rinks are cold. I'm going to be shivering my rear-end off at 6 a.m. on a Saturday so my daughter can jump and spin to cool music.

There was no question when I received Ice Coach's e-mail at 7:45 a.m. this morning (she's a morning person, I think).

Yep. We'll be there.

Update: Well, I survived the first 6 a.m. ice time. I had a mug of English Breakfast tea (still no coffee) and I worked the music in the hockey penalty booth. Maybe it wasn't the penalty booth, but you could see and smell it from where I was.

Did I mention that the 6 a.m. Saturday session has a twin? Yep. There's a 6 a.m. Friday session as well. Ice Girl's coach won't be there (she's not completely insane), but I guess I will be. Honestly, I hope I won't see anyone there. Not that I'm selfish about the full sheet of ice, but no one needs to see me before the sun is up. Something about vampires and messy hair.

Wear garlic around your neck if you plan on being there with me. It won't keep me away, but the smell might help me wake up and not walk into you.