Finding Our Balance

Slip the feet in.  Pull tight on the laces.  Then stand.  Smiles of excitement at this new way of walking.   A few words of caution spoken as one little boy looked ready to run.  Or dance.

Once all are laced up, we head to the ice.  For three of us, it will be the first time on ice in twenty years.  For two of us, it will be the first time on ice.  Before heading to the ice, I received some words of advice from a kind stranger: "Just find your balance."  We were worried how we could support two little boys first learning when we hadn't skated ourselves in so long but she was right.  We found our balance.  And with the balance came memories of skating with friends as a young child, of skating on an outdoor rink at nighttime under strings of lights as a teenager and of skating on a marsh with friends as a young woman in university.

While finding our balance, I realized that skating is rarely something done by oneself.  We skate with family, friends and the others on the ice who we may not know but we are all skating.  When a little boy falls causing a chain reaction with two other little girls, looks questioning your ability to control your child are not received. Rather laughter is shared as little ones who are also laughing are gently picked up off the ice.  See, it's like one big skating party.  And we question why it has taken so long for us to get back on the ice.

And the two boys?  They are well on their way to finding their balance.