Ice skating wasn’t a part of my childhood, but roller skating was. Not inline roller skating – old school quad wheel roller skating. The mom of one of my childhood friends took us to the roller rink, a twenty minute drive one way, every week so we could take lessons and “practice” during the public sessions.
That was a lot of fun. By the time we stopped, I could skate forward, backward, in a figure eight, fast, slow… could even do a bit of dancing on skates (I refuse to call it roller disco. I refuse.).
It’s surprising how much of what I learned to do thirty-plus years ago on eight wheels has transitioned to ice skating. Yes, the first times I tried ice skating I stayed within arms length of the walls. After learning that tight laces are the hot tip, my skates feel more solid on my feet and the wobbles have disappeared.
Once I got them tight enough, skating feels almost natural. Within three hours on my own skates I was turning front to back, skating backwards, doing 360s and stopping. After less than 10 hours, I think can skate pretty good – for an old woman. Until I see some kid who’s been skating since s/he was 4 just ripping up the ice all around me.
And then I realize just how much I suck. Or I could check out the bruises on my hips from wiping out if I need further proof of my suckage. Hey, if you don’t fall you aren’t trying hard enough, right? Looking forward to getting hockey pants and knee and elbow pads so it doesn’t hurt quite as much to try going big.
Oh well. I knew going into this that I’m never going to be “good” at it. This is about having fun, and so far ice skating is fun. It looks like playing hockey is even more fun. The closer it gets, the more I can’t wait!
hockeyover40 