Sunday, December 6, 2009

Too Old to Roller Skate?

We were invited tonight to a roller skating holiday party, which was hosted by Dr. Alena Spielberg Garcia for her orthodontic patients and their friends. It has been YEARS since I've roller skated. And my best memories of it are from the Owensville Roller Rink roughly 20 years ago! As I completed lap after lap, grinning ear-to-ear, I remembered the times as tweens/teens with my friends, circling the rink holding hands with our boyfriends. Ahhhh, am I really 33 years old?!?

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the basics to come back to me, so I made it through without embarrassing myself. Ivie was hesitant at first, not really sure what to make of trying to walk around with wheels on her feet. But it only took her one trip around the rink with me holding her for her to change her mind and want her own skates!

While Dale got Ivie outfitted with her kid-size-10's, I grabbed Macie and took her out for a few laps. SHE L-O-V-E-D IT! She was giggling like crazy, making me laugh, too, even though I was focused primarily on not falling with her in my arms! Sadly, after our 2nd lap, a rink employee skated out and told me that parents aren't allowed to hold kids. Makes sense, I guess, since I quite easily could have fallen. But Macie was distraught, not understanding why we had to put an end to her skating fun. Dale ultimately had the unenviable task of entertaining her while Ivie and I hit the rink...

We tried several different tactics to figure out the best way for Ivie to "skate" (more like walk on wheels) alongside me. It was slow-going, but she did a great job keeping her balance, only pulling me to the ground with her into a big heap one time! And, most importantly, I think she wants to try it again sometime, as she told me afterward, "Mommy, I had fun roller skating with you today!".

Thanks to Dale, I've got some skating pictures to share. Along with a couple of Macie entertaining herself on the sideline. I'm pleased to report that her wandering around the game section aimlessly only resulted in her being run down by a skater one time! And she bounced up injury-free...

Last thing. For memory's sake, so that I don't look back and recall it as an entirely perfect family outing (do those exist?). You'll note that Macie appears fairly happy in these pictures. Don't let them fool you. By the end of the night, she was fit to be tied. Hungry, tired, and still mad that she couldn't skate with me anymore, she embarked on one of the worst tantrums of her 15-month life. Literally 5 straight minutes of screaming, back-arching, flailing, and pretty much disturbing everyone around us while they attempted to eat dinner. She was finally pacified by a nacho chip, of all things, after shunning hot dog bites, Lay's potato chips, milk, Sprite, and pizza. But we survived...

Thank you, Alena, for a great evening! I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow. But it was well worth it to flash back to my "growing-up" days!


2 comments:

Stacy W. said...

How fun! Ivie looks so tall! And Macie looks as sweet as can be...Don't worry, Mac I never believe those tantrum stories your mom tells. :)
Glad you all had fun, tell your photographer nice work.

Carrie, Greg & Lucas said...

You're never to old to roller skate! Most kids now don't even know what you're talking about with roller blades out. You're story took me back to the good old days. Glad to see everyone had fun and no injuries! Those icy hot patches work great for old muscle aches!