Grown Men, Ice Skating, & Trampolines, What Could Go Wrong?
I can’t remember how old I was exactly, but I remember snow everywhere on the ground in Indianapolis. So I had to have been 8, maybe younger.
We had made a trip to an outdoor ice skating rink one day. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “How could there possibly be an ice rink that is outdoors?”
The thing is, that in other parts of the country, they have this thing called Winter. It’s like the two days we had of cold weather back in January, only it lasts about 100 days in a row.
Right!? Crazy, I know! But it’s true!
I always wanted to wear the hockey skates when we went, but this was back when you didn’t get to choose, so I laced up the figure skates to glide out onto the ice.
The only ones there were my family, the staff person, and this one other guy with an awesome 80's mustache and these crazy looking skates. The metal skate part looked to be as long as my arm! How could anyone possibly skate on such a straight skate?
He had some old school speed skates.
I skated around with my brother and sister while this guy zoomed around the rink at speeds I was sure were faster than a car. It was cool to watch.
And I skated over to the side to ask my dad when he was going to come out and skate with us.
“Not today, Son.”
I didn’t understand why…
29 years later…I was out skating at the Ice Palace in North Charleston with my family at a friend’s birthday party.
And of course, being in the 21st century, I had to get photos and video.
Pro tip: if you have grown up in the south, where there is one ice rink locally that you maybe have been to 10 times in your entire life, skating backwards while videoing is not a good plan.
As I lay there on the ice, flat on my back, I started counting the stars floating around the ceiling there at the Ice Palace.
And once my head cleared, I realized why my dad would not go skating with his 8 year old son.
Because he was wise enough to see that 30 minutes of skating wasn’t worth the risk of him injuring himself. It wasn’t worth the risk of losing a week of work because he fell.
At age 8, there was no way I could see it. At 38, it makes perfect sense.
Which is why I opted to hang out at work with Eleanor yesterday while the boys all went to Velocity Air Sports to jump on trampolines for the afternoon.
I have seen too many Instagram photos of grown men’s injuries who didn’t realize they weren’t 11 anymore.
*smile*
It has taken me almost 30 years, but reflecting on those moments of shock lying flat on my back on the ice helped me realize that I’m not 8 anymore. I have to operate in Dad Mode now.
Because just like my dad, 30 years ago, there are a lot of little people depending on me.
