Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

posted by erin on Jan 4

**Four days into 2009 and not a blog post to be seen from me.  I SERIOUSLY hope this is not a sign of another bad blogging year for me.  Not that last year was bad, per se, just a little, um, disappointing.  It was good in that I met lots of new and inspiring friends via this old blog.  It was bad disappointing because I had a 365 day run of writer’s block….or so it felt!  Well not this year!!  Nope, this year I’m turning over a new blog-leaf.  Yup.  There are going to be some BIG changes around here.  Like a post now and again.  Amazing, I tell ya! 

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I did something this past week that warrants mentioning.  I survived my first attempt at skating in 10 YEARS!  10 YEARS!!!  I can’t believe it.  I actually managed to stay on my feet and not end up in the snowbank, although it was touch and go there for the first few minutes.  It was fantastic.  

Did you know that back in the day…wayyyyyy back, I was going to be a figure skater?  Oh yeah.  I was in lessons, I watched all the figure skating competitions on t.v. with bated breath dreaming of being the next big one, my dad made us a rink every winter and I would practice and practice and dream.  I would lie in bed in the dark, imagining myself out on the ice on a snowy, wintry night with the huge spotlights shining on me as I twirled around in a pretty sparkly dress.  Sigh.  Now I fear that the lycra, sequins and spandex would just make me look all sausagey and force people to look away in horror before I could even amaze them with my mediocre skillz.  But the dream lives on.  

Last week our neighbor cleared a patch of ice on the lake behind our house and the weather cooperated, in that it was actually somewhat mild for a change.  I tore up the ice with my crazy moves.  I mean, it was no Stars on Ice or anything, but it was pretty good considering my age and years of famine in the skating arena (ARENA…get it?  Bwahaha…um, right).  So yeah, I skated in circles, backwards and forwards.  I managed to NOT fall.  I even did a little jump or two.  And by little I mean really little :)  Like a toe pick in the ice with one foot to propel me and the other foot barely leaving the ice.  But there WAS a second or two where both skates were definitely off the ice.  In the air.  So…a jump.  Yes.

Will there be pictures to back up this feat?  Perhaps.  If the temperature ever gets above -40 again and if it ever stops snowing long enough for us to find the lake under the layers and layers of white stuff.  I think perhaps I overdid it just a smidge the first day, as it was kind of hard to walk the rest of that evening.  Did you know that there are muscles used specifically for skating?  Nope, neither did I, until that first day.  WOWZERS!!!  Jer actually had to hold me up a couple times because I thought my legs were going to drop out from under me.  But the next day I was back out there and loving every second of it.  

Ella even managed to learn how to skate this week and after 2 times on skates, ever, she was attempting to twirl “like mommy” and she actually did.  I am so proud of her.  It seems she has a knack for skating.  On her first day on skates she was already propelling herself without any help from us.  It makes me so happy to see her out there enjoying herself and asking “Can we come back outside and skate ALL DAY tomorrow?  Right after breakfast??”  :)  You bet, kiddo, as long as you stay out of momma’s way whilst she relives the dream!