Reflections from the rink

I think I was in the 8th grade the first time that I went roller skating. I remember how frustrating it was to be bobbling around trying to stand up and not fall on my butt and to see all these little kids (maybe 5 or so) zipping around like they'd been skating all of their lives.

Fast forward 20+ years and change the location to the ice rink.

Here's my 2 boys. Stevie's 6 and Trev's 4. Stevie had 6 weeks of skating lessons last winter and after the first lesson when he spent more time down on his hands and knees or his butt than on his feet, he was ready to hang up his skates permanently. But we pushed him enough to stick with the lessons with the promise that if he made it all the way through, he'd never have to go skating ever again. You guessed it, by the end of his lessons, he loved skating. I think you can give his Canadian blood from Andy credit for that.

After seeing how much focus the skating lessons had on figure skating and how they worked more with the kids that didn't need as much help, we decided that we wouldn't waste the money on lessons this year for Trev. It was definitely a wise choice. We've gone skating every Sunday afternoon for the past month and Trevor is at the exact same level that Steven was after his $84 lessons last year, which is zipping around like a little madman around the ice. Oh, they both still fall down quite a bit, but they still enjoy it. And while neither of them can skate like Steve Yzerman yet, I think they'll be ready for hockey next year, if they decide that they want to play.

Today as I watched the boys (Steven says 'Mommy, don't skate with me' as he zooms around the rink) skating along, I recognized that look on so many faces that I myself had at the roller rink years ago. The look of 'hey! that little kid can skate so much better than I can.'

As for me and my ice skating capabilities? Well, there's definitely no Canadian blood running through my veins, but as long as I can stay on my feet and not flat on my face during the 2 hours of public skating time, that's good enough for me! For now, I can mostly keep up with both boys, although they definitely have more stamina than this 38 year old mama!!