A friend invited us to go roller skating and we took on the challenge as Shane was off work and hanging out with the boys. We love having a little girl time. She usually says "This is Rockin' Baby" in the car to wherever we may be going. This is a tradition which started when she was four years old on the way to see The Nutcracker Ballet. I could not stop laughing when she came up with it on her own.
Kyleigh and I met some of her buddies from school and got all laced up and ready for a good time. When we got there she said it did not look how she imagined it would look. This was her first time ever stepping in a skating rink. I guess it's kinda weird stepping into the past like that for a kid. The carpet was still on the walls although they had made a few updates since my college days.
When I was in elementary school skating was my favorite thing. My friends and I would skate for hours on driveways in our neighborhood. The kids in our neighborhood hung around our house and most of our time was spent outdoors. We had a basketball goal and our ping pong table sat in our garage. Kids and teens flocked to our house to play. How I love thee ping pong.
So it being her first time on skates she felt a bit unsure and it took a while for her to warm up. First, she hung out at the little blue carpeted wall for maybe the first hour. I just let her get comfortable except for the time I rented a skate mate for 5 bucks and pushed her around on that. Yeah. She fell and then we both fell when her skate ran into mine. We were ok so it was all good. Next time I will save my money though. Every second you are not in possession of your pvc pipe skate mate contraption kids are trying to swipe it from right under you. Plus, as my friend said it is probably best to learn to skate the old fashioned way we all learned without being dependent on the skate mate thingy. Good times.
Anyway, she worked up to skating on the carpet by herself. Big smile. And then crawling beside the skaters and inching down a wooden bench on the side. Whatever it takes, right? It took a while but eventually she was suddenly ready to hold my hand and skate. Well let me back up. It helped that her friend's big sixth grade brother held her other hand at first. It was a good idea and helped build her confidence plus she thinks he's pretty cool and all. Then she was ready to hold my hand while skating after she pointed to stop off points. We stopped at them all. She was loving it. Then the beloved "Let It Go" began to play and she couldn't get on the wood floor fast enough. She was absolutely beaming and laughing and giggling in those fluorescent orange skates knowing that she had conquered her fear.
She worked hard and she was able to reach her goal which was to get out there with her friends and wave and yell and enjoy the moment. When the session was over she was not ready to go which is usually true for the kids that start out slow and are just beginning to enjoy thelselves when time is up. Next time she will be ready. I'm so glad I stuck it out with her and that she learned there was nothing to be afraid of. It felt as if we were gliding and soaring together. Her little hand in mine so unafraid and so proud of herself.
A few nights after this she said she had a dream and we were skating hand in hand. Then her eyes were so big. She said "Mama, you went to the snack bar or to get me a bracelet (also sold at snack bar) and I was skating all by myself on the wood floor." Words cannot express the smile on her face. So proud of herself skating alone on that shiny wood floor. I have no doubt that her dream will come true very soon. So happy that we found something we both enjoy. Girl time rocks!
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