Yesterday afternoon evening I took my weekly trek to Jackson Skating Center. So many interesting things happened yesterday evening. I had my lesson with my coach, Diana, around 4:30 and was able to more with my new wheels. I’ve been practicing every chance I get. I always take a break to eat dinner at about 5:30. There is a learn to skate class that starts at that time.
When I put my skates back on, I went out to practice balancing on my right foot going around circles painted on the floor, it’s more difficult for me because it’s the “wrong way”. I’m having a hard time skating the opposite way of what is normally done on the rink during open skate. I did this for about 20 minutes, while the group in class was practicing their skills. She
still hasn't learned how to march on the rink. I was watching the coach
hold her hand, trying to keep her marching, but she just kept crying. There was a young child, 4 years old, who kept crying and saying to her mother she didn’t want to skate. Diana had everyone line up and this girl was still crying. She went off to be by her mother who kept encouraging her to keep trying. Just before the class was ending she was back on the rink crying again, she kept making eye contact with me. Diana was trying to calm this little girl down and one of the helpers too. I skated over to her and told her I would skate with her. For some reason, this child agreed. We marched from one side of the rink to the other, me talking to her and saying, "March, 1 2 3 4 5 and roll." She started to smile and was beginning to repeat what I was saying. The lesson ended, open skate started and I brought her around the rink one time, marching the whole way. I took her over to her mother who was thankful and talked to her. I asked the girl if she wanted to skate with me again next week during her lesson and her face lit up with a huge smile and she said, "YES!" I told her I would be there and we could practice together. Both the girl and her mother thanked me.
My coach asked what I did to get her to start skating. I honestly don't know. It was just a feeling I had, the eye contact, something inside of me said I should help her. When I was getting ready to go back out on the rink, the coach and I were watching a young couple skating. The teenage girl looked like Bambi, her legs wide, leaning forward, she was going to fall. Diana wanted to help her. She waved them over to the wall and start explaining how to start skating. My coach looked at me and said, "Show her what I'm talking about." I looked at her and thought, "ME? I suck." I didn't say this out loud, I just listened to her and got on the rink and started to show this young lady how to march and roll. It just so happened the girl was in marching band! So she understood what she had to do. I stayed with her around the rink a couple of times until she got the hang of it and then told her to keep practicing. Every time I saw her the rest of the night, she was doing better and I encouraged and complimented her. She would get a big smile on her face and say, "THANK YOU!"
Later in the evening, I took a break to grab a drink. I left my skate bag with some people I made friends with over the past month. There was a new family sitting with them and the daughter was crying. Everyone was trying to encourage her to get back out on the rink. This girl actually fell a few months before and broke her wrist skating. She was terrified to be out by herself. Again, I offered to help. It took a few minutes, but I got her to go out with me. I grabbed her hand as we stepped onto the rink and we started to march around, she was gripping my hand so tight I think I was losing circulation in my hand! I kept looking at her face and she still had tears in her eyes and such a terrified look. She was biting her lip, her face was tight and scrunched up. I kept telling her I was there with her and wouldn't let her fall. I said she look so unhappy, I said you should be smiling you made it around the rink so many times without falling! Then I asked her if she was breathing, because if she wasn't she would pass out and that would definitely make her fall. That finally made her laugh. She relaxed a little bit, just a little and was doing really well. A country song came on and I told her there was no way I could skate to the song, so we went off to take a break. She was smiling and thanked me for going out with her. I skated with her again later and she eventually went out by herself.
I am not that great, but I love roller skating so much that I want other people to enjoy it too. I invite everyone I know to join me. Very few people actually do, but that's ok. It's exciting to know that I can meet random strangers in the rink make new friends through helping them. From the time I was 4 years old to about 16 years old, my dream was to be a teacher. When I got into high school, I realized I didn't want to be a "school" educator and my path in life changed. 12 years ago, I fell in love with exercise and took the leap to be a personal trainer, which led to owning a supplement store and now adding roller skating to my exercise routine. Somehow, God has directed me back to what my childhood aspiration was, educating. I may not be teaching English, math or science like I thought as a child, but I am passing on my knowledge of fitness and supplementation. As I said in my last blog post, it's strange to see how things in life come full circle.
My coach asked what I did to get her to start skating. I honestly don't know. It was just a feeling I had, the eye contact, something inside of me said I should help her. When I was getting ready to go back out on the rink, the coach and I were watching a young couple skating. The teenage girl looked like Bambi, her legs wide, leaning forward, she was going to fall. Diana wanted to help her. She waved them over to the wall and start explaining how to start skating. My coach looked at me and said, "Show her what I'm talking about." I looked at her and thought, "ME? I suck." I didn't say this out loud, I just listened to her and got on the rink and started to show this young lady how to march and roll. It just so happened the girl was in marching band! So she understood what she had to do. I stayed with her around the rink a couple of times until she got the hang of it and then told her to keep practicing. Every time I saw her the rest of the night, she was doing better and I encouraged and complimented her. She would get a big smile on her face and say, "THANK YOU!"
Later in the evening, I took a break to grab a drink. I left my skate bag with some people I made friends with over the past month. There was a new family sitting with them and the daughter was crying. Everyone was trying to encourage her to get back out on the rink. This girl actually fell a few months before and broke her wrist skating. She was terrified to be out by herself. Again, I offered to help. It took a few minutes, but I got her to go out with me. I grabbed her hand as we stepped onto the rink and we started to march around, she was gripping my hand so tight I think I was losing circulation in my hand! I kept looking at her face and she still had tears in her eyes and such a terrified look. She was biting her lip, her face was tight and scrunched up. I kept telling her I was there with her and wouldn't let her fall. I said she look so unhappy, I said you should be smiling you made it around the rink so many times without falling! Then I asked her if she was breathing, because if she wasn't she would pass out and that would definitely make her fall. That finally made her laugh. She relaxed a little bit, just a little and was doing really well. A country song came on and I told her there was no way I could skate to the song, so we went off to take a break. She was smiling and thanked me for going out with her. I skated with her again later and she eventually went out by herself.
I am not that great, but I love roller skating so much that I want other people to enjoy it too. I invite everyone I know to join me. Very few people actually do, but that's ok. It's exciting to know that I can meet random strangers in the rink make new friends through helping them. From the time I was 4 years old to about 16 years old, my dream was to be a teacher. When I got into high school, I realized I didn't want to be a "school" educator and my path in life changed. 12 years ago, I fell in love with exercise and took the leap to be a personal trainer, which led to owning a supplement store and now adding roller skating to my exercise routine. Somehow, God has directed me back to what my childhood aspiration was, educating. I may not be teaching English, math or science like I thought as a child, but I am passing on my knowledge of fitness and supplementation. As I said in my last blog post, it's strange to see how things in life come full circle.
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| "Don't dream it, be it." |
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