Holy Ice Skates, Batman!

My daughter Brooke has been in a Learn to Skate program for 2 years and I finally hired her a skating coach. Now, if you know Brooke, you know she does not like sports. She refuses to join a team - soccer, softball, lacrosse - hell, she gets mad when she has to exert herself at school in gym! "I don't like to breathe heavy..." Oh paleeze - your mother is a strength and conditioning coach/personal trainer AND a 35 year runner. Your father is a natural born athlete who has played every sport known to man! You can NOT be serious.

So when she expressed an interest in skating, I was ecstatic! Not only was I an avid figure skating fan for my whole life (until I had kids, anyway) but I figure skated as an adult in my thirties and loved it. Had a coach - skated several times a week (Trust me - it wasn't pretty, so don't get mis-illusioned! Is that a word?) and only gave it up because my job became a time sucker.

Yesterday I took Brooke to the rink to practice and for the first time in 2 years, I finally saw my daughter as a figure skater - with potential! She has started to hold her body upright like a skater, her strokes have improved dramatically in just a few weeks with her new coach and her confidence on the ice - that I have waited so long to see - has finally emerged.

Today, I returned to the ice. Brooke seemed so lonely out there yesterday without her buddy Gillian that today I said, "Why not?". So I stuffed my post pregnancy feet into my $500 ice skates of long ago and stepped out onto the ice for the first time in over 16 years. Can I just tell you something? It is NOT like riding a bicycle after several years of not riding. Oh noooooooooo - it was scary! And Brooke laughed at me for the first 30 minutes. But then I settled in. And she stopped laughing...

Wicked joy!!!!

Epilogue

As soon as I got off the ice, I called the skate shop.
I was there before they closed, having my skates stretched to fit these post pregnancy feet! My back is sore, my feet hurt and I have a blister. Yup, I think I will indulge in some regular icy joy this year.