Kiss My Knits!

As I try to find new things for Em to do this summer, I hit on an activity that I did a lot as a kid. Roller skating!

When I was young, our daycare went to Kate’s Skating Rink every Thursday during the summer. I got pretty good. Gary Gallimore and I traded off “fastest kid” during racing on any given week. If I’d kept it up, perhaps I’d be tearing it up with the Charlotte Roller Girls. However, I did not keep it up, so my dreams of throwing elbows at breakneck speeds remain only dreams.

I had a feeling that skating was one of those things you don’t really forget, like riding a bike, and I was right. It all came back when I took Em out today. It’s a good thing, too. Unlike more upscale Kate’s, the Starlight Skating Rink doesn’t have a wall around it. There’s nothing to grab onto but the person you’re with.

In renting, we both went for the traditional type of skates and not the inline ones. I’ve never tried those, and I had a feeling I’d need to be stable and confident since Em would probably want to hang onto me. I was right. It was like trying to rescue a swimmer who’s trying to pull you under. I had to keep my entire body tensed up and make constant tiny adjustments in order to keep from going down. I did pretty well, but we both did go down a couple of times.

Now, often when Em doesn’t immediately succeed at something, she wants to give up. That didn’t happen this time.

Em: “I fell down! Now what?”
Me: “Now you get back up and keep skating.”

And she did.

We went around the rink once and she thought she was done. We got some water since we were both sweating. (Em: “My skin tastes like salt!”) I said I wanted to go around again, so she happily went out with me. She did better the second time. I asked to go around one more time, and she decided she’d just watch. So I went out solo.

For the most part, I still have the moves of my youth. I do not, however, have the physique of my youth. I’ve got a lot more mass to sling around those turns. I came very close to rocketing back in time a la Star Trek IV. Still, lots of fun, in a somewhat more laid back way than it was when I was younger. When a couple of little seven-year-olds whizzed past me showing off and shooting the duck I felt absolutely no desire to injure myself by trying to keep up. I wouldn’t mind going skating again. It was a good workout for my abs and thighs.

Then Em and I went and played a video game and got some popcorn and more water, and relaxed and listened to the music in quiet contemplation. She won some tickets at her video game so she traded them for a cheap plastic ring. We turned our skates in and went home, with a stop at Dunkin Doughnuts for a treat.

Em had a great time and would love to go back sometime. I would too. She also wants to try ice skating now, as she’s feeling more confident and I have assured her that she probably will not be cut by the blades if she falls.

So let’s hear it for old memories and new experiences. I’m going to be very sore tomorrow, but it was worth it.