Skate night
The kid’s school and a local skating rink have conspired. They offer a free skate night to all students and their families. Entrance to the rink is free and standard skates are free. The rink makes money on food sales and rollerblade rentals. I’m not sure what the school gets. Perhaps it is something the PTA pays for, I don’t know.
What I do know is that we have never attended any of these skate nights because they are invariably on school nights. There is no way the rink is going to give out free admission on a weekend. My kids have lamented this non-attendance greatly. Today I was feeling like I owed something to the kids for all the non attention and stress the past while, so we went to skate night.
We walked in the door and I was instantly transported back to my teen years. All roller rinks are essentially the same and the last time I went to one I was about 15. This one had the same lights and the same corny games that kids love and grown ups enjoy because the kids are loving them. There was the same row of video games and the concessions stand. It was different to see kids on scooters out there with the rollerskaters. But this rink allows scooters, it even rents them. (It also allowed strollers, which is cool.) This delighted Link who had no intention of wearing skates. Kiki and Gleek immediately spent the extra $2 for roller blades. I stayed with the retro molded plastic side by side rollerskates. With wheels on our feet we all hit the floor.
Patches hit the floor several times in the first few minutes and decided that he was done with the skating business. He opted for a Pizza dinner and then he went home with Howard. I was glad for this because it freed me up to get out on the floor with my three other kids. Kiki was totally in her element. She skated and played the corny games and bought candy with her money. Link played some of the video games and then happily scooted around. Gleek wasn’t so sure on her feet, but she figured out a sort of a march that let her get around the floor without falling down. Later when one of her rollerblades was hurting, she took it off. That was when she discovered that by using one foot to push and the the skated foot to glide she could go really fast. She particularly liked to go really fast crosswise to the flow of traffic, like a little frogger. Towards the end of the evening she was tired, so she’d go for half a lap with me then dart to the side (through traffic,) she’d wait for me to come back around again and she’d dart back out (through traffic) to join me. She was easily the smallest fast person out there. All the other small people clung to adults and to the edges of the rink.
As for me, I spent a lot of the evening trying to locate my kids. But as the rink cleared out I was able to relax and really skate. I know that I didn’t look cool or accomplished out there, but I was please with how much skating I remembered. I can still weave and spin a little. It pleased me that I can still do these things. I’m not truly good, but I was good enough that my kids now think I’m cool. Skating is a little like flying on that smooth floor. I loved rounding the corners and feeling the wind on my face. I probably looked a little silly out there trying to dance and skate at the same time, but I don’t care. I had fun and I’ve got the aching muscles and bruises to prove it.