Saturday we went to my nephew's birthday party - at the skating rink.
On the way to Pensacola I was telling the kids about the skating rink we were going to.
This rink opened when my mother was a teenager and since it was just down the street from her house, she spent a lot of time there.
Every year the rink would hold a skating contest and the winner was crowned Queen of the Rink and her picture was taken and hung on the wall.
My Mom was Queen three years in a row.
When I hit middle school skating was the thing to do and I spent every Friday and Saturday night at the rink for years.
My Mom's picture was still hanging on the wall and while I was a decent skater I could never skate as well as she did.
So as we drove over I was telling all of this to the kids.
"Are you going to skate?" they asked.
"Absolutely not!" was the answer.
When the Island Girl was eight she went to a skating birthday party and I skated and did very well.
Until my cell phone rang.
I skated off the floor into the rec area, propped myself up against a pool table and answered the phone.
And when I did I leaned back onto the pool table and crossed my feet.
Unfortunately, I forgot there were wheels under my feet, my feet went rolling out from under me, I landed on my butt, and broke it.
Officially. Broken tailbone.
I spent the next two weeks sitting on the couch and the six weeks after that sitting on a donut everywhere I went.
Breaking your butt is a very unpleasant experience and I decided then that my skating days were over.
But...
We get to the party and there's my mother - in skates!
That woman skated around the rink, forewards and backwards like she was 17 years old. It was amazing!
And inspiring.
I watched her skate for a few minutes and knew I had to do it too.
The Island Girl was very proud me. She doesn't know how to skate so she thought I was being brave like her and giving it our best shot.
I got my skates on, hesitant, but watching my mother who hasn't skated in decades, skate around the rink.
I made out it onto the rink and felt so young! I was 13 again and skating!
For a few feet.
And then I started to fall.
I knew I was going down and was able to break my fall. It didn't hurt so I got back up and continued on.
After a while I was starting to feel it come back to me and thought I was doing pretty good.
My non-biological sister, Monkey, and I were skating around, talking about how we used to live in this place, how well we could skate and reminiscing about the good old days.
I was feeling confident and enjoying her company and then I was on the floor.
I never saw it coming. One minute I was skating along and the next minute I hit the floor so hard my glasses flew off and across the floor.
I couldn't decide what was worse, the searing pain in my elbow or the searing pain in my hip.
And I'm trying to slide over to my glasses before they get run over.
Meanwhile, Monkey has stopped turned around and says "What the hell just happened?"
My mother has raced over to see if I'm ok and to grab my glasses.
And my daughter is laughing so hard she can't stand up and has fallen into a heap on the floor next to me.
Laughing hysterically.
By now I've had time to realize that my hip and elbow aren't actually broken but they are definitely injured.
My Mom helped me up and is supporting me as we skate back to the benches.
All I can think about is getting those skates off my feet and how bad I hurt.
The Island King took my skates off and put my shoes back on for me because bending over made my hip scream even louder.
I limped back over to the table where the kid's party was set up, declared myself finished with skating forever and then watched in amazement as my mother skated back onto the rink with all of the kids and did the Chicken Dance - on skates!
The picture is dark and blurry because my hip hurt too bad to walk out to where they were but trust me, that is my Mother doing the Chicken Dance - on skates.
The Island King was standing next to me and said "Wow, you got owned by grandma."
I sure did. There's no denying it. My mother skates as well today as she did 25 years ago.
Mom, I AM IMPRESSED!
You're still the Queen of the Rink!
And I am your daughter, at home with a black and blue hip, hobbling around like an 80 year old today.
You'd think after 45 years I'd see these things coming but I never do.
It keeps life interesting but the older I get the more painful it becomes.Labels: Done
