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Skating through life

July 6, 2022
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

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.

Copyright © 2022 Catholic Review Media

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Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review's Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family and faith.

Rita also writes The Domestic Church, a featured column in the Catholic Review. Her writing has been honored by the Catholic Press Association, the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and the Associated Church Press.

View all posts from this author

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