She Skates

new skater
Originally uploaded by dogfaceboy.

The best cup of hot chocolate I've ever had was at Northwest Ice Rink. I'm sure this has less to do with the quality of the chocolate than with the quality of the days I spent skating with my mom.

My husband's students give him delicious gourmet hot chocolate mixes every Christmas, and my daughter has certainly had her fill of Ghirardelli's and Godiva. But ask her in twenty years, and she'll likely tell you this cup, on this glorious first day skating, was the best.

For the past week, Serena had been speed skating around a tiny loop in the basement in her new Rollerblades. I figured it was time for the serious stuff, so I called my mom, and the three of us went to the new Harbor Point outdoor ice rink.

It had been eight years since I laced up a pair of skates. A lot has changed. Today's rental skate is inferior to yesterday's (why should skates be any different?): the laces are thin and flimsy and tied together in several places; the top three spots on the ankle thread, rather than wrap, making it hard to tighten the skate (hence all the breaks). It's expensive now, too. For three people to skate and park, it cost $25. And then there's the silly little penguin standing around in tennis shoes.

8-16
Originally uploaded by dogfaceboy.

Perhaps the biggest change is in me and my mom. We're much older, and our bodies don't heal so quickly anymore. My first few times around, I was slow and cautious. My mother held onto the wall for her first several laps. Ruts and divots in the ice made us a little wary, and I shied away from areas by the wall, where water pooled from the warm temperatures.

Serena sat with her hot chocolate and a satisfied grin while the Zamboni did its job. More comfortable on the ice, we were actually eager to get out on the smooth surface for a couple laps, even though that new surface was mighty slippery.

After about two hours of circling the small rink, I took a break. We watched a woman doing graceful spins, and I wondered if I could get just a few lessons, spin around a few times like that.

While we sat on the sidelines, Serena, who'd been skating most of her laps like a speed demon with the support of a PVC walker, decided to take a secret lap without it. She'd been around without it a few times before, but I was with her. So the moment I realized she'd left the weird plastic device at the entrance, I went out. I got there just in time for the big spill.

skater
Originally uploaded by dogfaceboy.

She landed in a pool of water and was soaked. This little child in a short-sleeved shirt and leggings (by the second hour, she'd taken off her jacket and her sweater), the one who'd just gotten over strep throat and a fever of 103°, was shivering and crying as I pulled her up and towed her back to safety.

Though we called it a day then and there, the fall hasn't deterred her. She has asked at least five times today when we can skate again. I'm thinking next week. If there's a happy memory to be made, better make it.

At lunch, while Mom and I picked at our salads, Serena slept, propped up in the corner of the booth. She slept all the way home, too. Kids!

I went up to rest my head shortly after we got home, and more than two hours later, I was awakened by the phone. Grownups!

Now that I think about it, I think Serena's cup of hot chocolate on this 50-degree February day is my new all-time favorite.

Sometimes real life can trump the quality of an exquisite memory. May it happen for us all more often.