Yet every game he has played since December is available for me to watch, and I can’t help but indulge myself. I watch him celebrate his goals and I see him hold it together after a loss. Aside from Liam, the viewing seemed like an easy way to get to know his teammates. After watching press conferences and seeing how they blend together as a team, it makes sense to me how he sees them like his family. Between Anders, Rook, and Edge – as Liam calls them all – they each share a look and the other instinctively knows where to go and what to do. Edge is an enforcer, and admittedly I had no clue what that meant until a couple weeks ago. But seeing him engage in brawls on the ice to protect the team is frightening.

I can also see how much they respect their captain, Aiden Anders. And I also understand why Lyndsey drools over him. He commands the ice as one of the biggest men on the team. His strength is a given, but there is also a mental toughness that can be felt even through the TV screen. If he asked me to lace up some skates and take to the ice, I would have trouble telling him no.

I might not know the team yet, but I know their bond. It gives me some reassurance to know Liam has them in his corner as he also navigates this strange time in his life.

As the NHL portion of the sports schedule comes to an end, I can’t help but think about doing it all again tomorrow. There are parts of my day that I love, but I know the further along I get in this pregnancy and the bigger my bump gets, the harder it’s going to be to live my life. I know I’m going to have Liam’s help, but there’s still so much distance and there are so many obstructions between us that I’m not sure how much good it will really do.

In the later stages of my pregnancy last time around I had to put the business on the back-burner because Lyndsey wasn’t ready to take over fully. This time Lyndsey will take over if – and when – the time comes that I have to step away for a few months. I count my blessings that I can afford to take time off for myself and for the baby, I know so many others aren’t given that luxury.