Zoë & I on our weekly skating date together.

It’s that time of year again!

Skating always calls to me. Even when I am not on the ice, my legs want to be. Working the sport back into my life in a way that can also be a full experience for my daughter has been a challenge, joy and source of light. It has a way of getting us out and moving, honing skills, enjoy a sport and experiencing each other in a unique atmosphere outside the daily grind.

Skating, I believe, gives you every lesson you need in life. Learning how to fall and get back up. (because you will and should fall) Letting yourself be loose and go with the flow, taking a risk, trying something new, being creative, diligently practicing… the list goes on.

Of course I would love it if Zoë shared in my love of figure skating and surpassed me in skill, but more than anything, what the rink gives us is a way to express ourselves both physically and creatively.

Watching her learn this , is something that I hope gives her wings to fly, be them literally on the ice or elsewhere in her life.

On the Ice

I have a special spot in my life and heart for skating / figure skating. I found my passion for it during a rough time in my teen years. Learning how to skate along with the basics of figure skating not only introduced me to what it means to experience an athletic perspective in mind and body, but also what it means to move through emotional pain.

I could have easily accepted the darkness in my life back then. It seemed as if everything was falling around me. Everything I knew and loved was separating from me. Pulling apart with no warning and a finality that scared me. I am amazed that it wasn’t to drugs or other forms of unhealthy coping that I retreated to.

I can only believe that I was heavenly protected during that season of my life. That my drive to thrive was stronger than my drive to crumble. & that the ice rink across from my high school was a bit of a heavenly gift of freedom.

Looking back, I believe it was through figure skating that I learned I could be graceful, healthy, overcome my fears, push myself farther than what I thought possible & find joy amidst turmoil.

Why We Skate

Introducing my daughter to my love for the ice, isn’t about wanting her to be a young figure skater, but about sharing with her the place that helped heal me. Stepping onto an empty rink at 10:00am during my free period from high school, being allowed to slip in my own burned CD on the speakers and practicing again and again different basic skills brought me to a place of freedom and trust.

For my daughter, it may be something different. She may find her places of healing elsewhere, but I want her to know, that for me, it was the ice where I found it & if we open our eyes to the little ideas of dreams and whims held within, we will find those sacred places of healing in the places we least expect it.