My kids love for me to chaperone their field trips. And, while I do enjoy spending time with them and seeing parts of Beijing I might not normally visit, field trip chaperone is not my favorite pastime. Despite that, I promised I would accompany each of them on at least one field trip this year and Caleb's was this week. Unfortunately, it was also to an ice skating.
Now, I grew up in Hawaii. We don't have ice there, ever. We had one ice skating rink on the complete other side of the island from where we lived. Ice Palace. And, we only ever went there on field trips, and even then, probably only a handful of times over the course of my schooling. And while I did go to college in Utah, winter sports are not so much my thing, so add another handful of times to my tally, throw in a random date here or there and you've got a grand total of about 12 times that I have ever donned ice skates. In my entire life. But, when one is surrounded by a passel of third graders, one has to appear confident and together and ready to meet all challenges with grace and poise and a complete lack of totally justified fear that one is about to careen head-long into said third graders or the wall and certainly come away from the day more than a little bruised and battered.
There were 4 parents on the trip. 3 moms and 1 dad. The Dad is a hockey enthusiast and he brought his own skates. The other two moms stated in no uncertain terms before we even boarded the buses that under no circumstances would they be going anywhere near the ice. I was delighted to hear this was even an option and was all set to join their club when Caleb piped up and said to all of his friends, "Of course my mom can ice skate, she'll be going out on the ice with us. Right, Mommy?" Um, right. And, so, I did.
I was no help as a chaperone. That is indisputable. I could not hold hands or steady wobbly children or catch anyone. I could barely even stay our of their paths. But, I am proud to say that over the course of 2 bone-chillingly cold hours, I managed to stay upright. I didn't even have to grope the wall for support, ahem, much, and I was able, on a few occasions, to turn around, change direction, and even stop. I don't think I'll be ice skating again anytime soon, but it's nice to know I've still got it. And by it, I mean the ability to suppress my rational and irrational fears and do things my logical self would normally run away from as fast and far as possible.
Now, I grew up in Hawaii. We don't have ice there, ever. We had one ice skating rink on the complete other side of the island from where we lived. Ice Palace. And, we only ever went there on field trips, and even then, probably only a handful of times over the course of my schooling. And while I did go to college in Utah, winter sports are not so much my thing, so add another handful of times to my tally, throw in a random date here or there and you've got a grand total of about 12 times that I have ever donned ice skates. In my entire life. But, when one is surrounded by a passel of third graders, one has to appear confident and together and ready to meet all challenges with grace and poise and a complete lack of totally justified fear that one is about to careen head-long into said third graders or the wall and certainly come away from the day more than a little bruised and battered.
There were 4 parents on the trip. 3 moms and 1 dad. The Dad is a hockey enthusiast and he brought his own skates. The other two moms stated in no uncertain terms before we even boarded the buses that under no circumstances would they be going anywhere near the ice. I was delighted to hear this was even an option and was all set to join their club when Caleb piped up and said to all of his friends, "Of course my mom can ice skate, she'll be going out on the ice with us. Right, Mommy?" Um, right. And, so, I did.
I was no help as a chaperone. That is indisputable. I could not hold hands or steady wobbly children or catch anyone. I could barely even stay our of their paths. But, I am proud to say that over the course of 2 bone-chillingly cold hours, I managed to stay upright. I didn't even have to grope the wall for support, ahem, much, and I was able, on a few occasions, to turn around, change direction, and even stop. I don't think I'll be ice skating again anytime soon, but it's nice to know I've still got it. And by it, I mean the ability to suppress my rational and irrational fears and do things my logical self would normally run away from as fast and far as possible.
Caleb was fearless and he had a blast.
Thank goodness for his helmet and protective pads!
He spent more time lying on or crashing into the ice than he did upright, but he was still smiling at the end.
In fact, we both were!
1 comments:
I'm impressed. Sort of like when I managed to ride a bike...
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