Sophie and I went ice skating yesterday so that she’d have some time to practice her technique before her next lesson.  The rink was a mob scene.  Lots of little tikes low to the ground displaying no fear whatsoever while speeding around the rink like banshees.  Lots of adults doing the same thing, but without the same talent.

Sophie was well prepared with her helmet and gloves.  It took me four tries to find skates in the right size for me, but once I did, I had an epiphany.   I wasted so many ice skating sessions over the years having a miserable time, all because my skates never fit.  I’m not a particularly good skater, but I get by – I can even skate backwards.  Sophie was duly impressed because she was expecting me to be much worse.

My little one did great.  She only fell a handful of times, but falling didn’t discourage her.  Each time, she got herself up with a smile and started again.  She practiced her swizzling and her gliding and by the end of the session, she felt confident enough to ask me to skate around the rink all by herself.  I hesitated.  It was still really crowded.  What if some jerk knocked her down?  But I didn’t want her to lose confidence.  So I relented.  I watched from the sidelines, skates still on (just in case I had to save her) and she made her way around the rink in one piece, without falling and with a huge smile on her face.

Sophie isn’t a complicated kid.  She just wants to have fun, feel a sense of accomplishment and spend quality time with her mom.  And she experienced all that in spades yesterday.  Go, Sophie, go!