I
love to watch the figure skaters. My Olympic faves. I sit there, of an evening,
and float across the ice with them from my recliner. I think of how it might be
if I could suddenly inhabit their lithe, young, bodies and defy reason and
gravity in an attempt to achieve gold. Sometimes, the next morning, I wake up
with sympathy pains in my ankles and look around for that cool outfit I wore for
the performance. Okay, not really, but you kind of get where I’m going with
this, right?
Sure
you do. Where I’m going is – I have never been, nor will I ever be, an Olympic
quality athlete. Nope, I was one of those girls who stood in the outfield and
prayed. Not to win, silly. No, I prayed the ball wouldn’t come to me. What if
it hit me in the face or slammed into my chest (which was flat enough already)?
Those of us who eventually became perfect breeders realize that protecting the
species by not getting banged up on the courts and fields of dreams were
answering to a higher calling. And I have three sons and six extraordinary grandchildren
that bears this idea out.
With
this in mind, you might be surprised to learn that I met the love of my life
while ice skating. I’d left work one night and invited one of my sisters and a
brother to go with me to the local rink. You see, I had a brief, insane, few
weeks when I thought I could conquer the ice. Little did I know that a former
speed skater and his friend would also be there. I was too busy trying to stay
upright to notice. Then, as I sat catching my breath, I heard a voice. It
belonged to a blue eyed blond who had leaned down to ask me to skate. I. Was.
Stunned. But I said “yes” and believe me, I was happy to be whirled around that
rink in the company of someone who knew what he was doing (besides admiring my
blue sweater). It was an historic moment.
I’m
very glad there are young people dedicated enough to a sport that they make a
mark in the world. They climb Olympus and give it their all. They are beautiful,
nervous, quirky, inspiring and I cheer them along. And sometimes, when I dare
to imagine what that must be like, a blue eyed blond pops into mind and makes
me happy to be right where I am; safe in my recliner knowing that there was
another, better, path for someone like me.
Image: digitalart Free Digital Photos
This is an olympic post; how lovely. I'm a huge fan of figure skating too. I remember the first time I saw Rudy Galindo skate; I cried. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this.
Glad you enjoyed, Jen. I hope you are wintering well!
DeleteI enjoy figure skating as well. Adding to what Jen says above, I remember the first time I saw Rudy Galindo skate too. I felt like other skaters skated and tried to make it look like dancing, while Rudy danced majestically and just happened to have skates on his feet. His fluidity and control were stunning.
ReplyDeleteBTW, like you, I met my husband while trying to master a sport. I met my husband on a volleyball court. I was not very good at the sport that I had not played since high school, while he had not stopped playing it since high school and was the hands-down best in the league. He asked me out about two weeks after the league commenced. Another interesting tidbit: we went ice skating on our first date. :-D
Anyway, enjoy the rest of the Olympics. Thanks for sharing this. Be well.
I love "how we met" stories. Thanks for sharing yours, Janette. Let's see how our American hockey team does. Nail biting time!
DeleteLike you, I was never quite Olympic material. I always wanted to get better at sports, but ended up being more one praying in the outfield too. Loved hearing how you and your husband met. Very romantic! :)
ReplyDeleteAww. Thanks, Karen. It was romantic - still is. Have a super week.
DeleteKaren's right. It's a very romantic story! I'd say you could practice your couples figure skating right there on the kitchen floor. In tube socks. It's not too late; so what if you'll never be an Olympian. :)
ReplyDelete(And I say, whatever figure you've got, you can skate it around anyway.) LOL.
I used to have a "figure" that looked pretty good on the ice. Now it looks pretty good from the neck up. =0) Thanks for stopping by, Rhonda.
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