peskypippi.comBecause I have a lot to say…

I took my kids ice skating at the local ice rink.

This outing was different. I think I have changed. For the better.

I realize that my two sillies are teaching me a bunch as we go. A bunch about just enjoying the moment.

I used to obsess that we get our money’s worth. “Let’s get out there and skate! Hurry! No resting!”

It took us like 11 minutes to get our skates laced, coats zipped, gloves on. Then, hobbling. Teetering. Onto the slippery ice.

Only two laps around and I needed to rest my ankles. The throbbing!

It took my seven year old precisely 14 minutes to skate one lap.

Then. He asked for nachos and root beer. Normally I would say, “You’re hungry already?” And encourage him to skate more because “We didn’t come here to eat.”

But not this time. I pulled out my wallet. The three of us sat around the little table laughing, eating nachos, watching the zaboni.

A few more laps. More resting. More giggling. A few falls. Some hand-holding. More resting. More giggling.

With all the hobbling, teetering, laughing, resting, snacking, and sillying, we probably only got in 40 minutes of skating. But who cares? It’s probably the non-skating moments that we’ll remember more.

As we unlaced and ditched the skates, my kids said to me, “we had the best time ever.”

Yeah, me too.

An afternoon ice skating with my daughter reminded me of three important life lessons:

• Balance. Balance in ice skating is important. Balance in life is important. Enough said.
• Let go. In ice skating, you need to let go of the rails and just go for it. What’s the fun in holding onto the rail when you can speed across the ice?

Just check out my “Pesky Pippi cam” as I perform a triple salchow:

But the most important life lesson I learned ice skating is…

• Recycle ugly sweaters. Never leave the house in a hideous sweater, such as the one I wore.

Oops, I did it again.