It was a hot summer afternoon, and my sons had been asking to go roller skating. When we got to the rink, there was hardly anyone else there. As I watched our boys circle the nearly empty rink, I had an idea.
Usually, with excited children and skilled adults skating all over the place, I wouldn’t dare put on skates myself. It would be such a spectacle if I fell.
But there were only a handful of other people skating. I had nothing to lose. If I were ever going to try to find my skating muscles again, this might just be the day. My sons were divided on whether it was a good idea. One thought it might be fun, and the other thought it might be disastrous.
“Maybe it’s like riding a bicycle,” I said.
Then I walked to the counter and paid to rent a pair of skates and put them on.
If life were a movie, I would have immediately skated onto the rink, gliding as gracefully as I ever did as an 8-year-old at Skateland. Within minutes, I would have been skating backwards and forwards, racing my sons, maybe even doing a split as everyone did the Limbo. I certainly would have been putting my left foot in and putting my left foot out during the Hokey Pokey.
Instead, I couldn’t let go of the railing. Nothing about the skates felt familiar. The longer I wore them, the more certain I was that I would never be able to master skating. While my children confidently sailed around the rink at top speed, I clung to the railing, trying to get used to this rolling sensation.
Finally, my feet slid out from underneath me, and I caught myself on the railing in time to lower myself to the ground. Even though the building was almost entirely empty, there were two brilliantly-skating ladies close enough to me to witness the humiliation and express their concern.
I got up laughing and went to take off my skates. Still, I had no regrets. I didn’t even have to go to the emergency room with a sprained ankle.
“There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart,” Saint Augustine said. I was happy I had tried, and I was even prouder to watch my talented sons skate by with speed, confidence, and incredible coordination.
Skating is many things. It’s a great skill to have, a fantastic way to impress your friends, and a wonderful way to spend a summer afternoon.
But it is apparently not like riding a bicycle. So, you’ll find me on the side guarding the French fries and the blue raspberry slushies. That’s something even I can handle.
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