8 Wheels of Fun!!!

Last night we got out of the house. Time to have some one on one time with my son!!! There is a new Sports Complex just a few miles from my home. When I think of Sports Complex I think of baseball batting cages, or maybe some soccer, but I don't think I would have guessed it would be roller skating. I think they might expand, but for now it is only just a roller skating rink.
Last Saturday night we went with some friends and if it was not for the fact that I didn't have enough cash, I would have skated. Last night I was going to put on a brave front and was going to try. AND I was not going to fall. The first pair of skates were awful, even if I thought they would be a good fit. I had to go back a few laps into my evening to get a bigger size - ahhhhhh - my feet were thanking me. The first time I stepped off the carpet's edge was a scary moment, but I was steading myself with the wall. The moment of truth - onto the rink. Now, the good part was that there were only a about 15 people skating. Oh, I can do this, not a lot of people to make me feel all embarrassed. (by the end of the night there were about 50 people). I made it around the rink one, two, three, four....keep going - you are doing it - you are not falling. The only downside was that the walls of the rink have a plastic kind of coating and there was a lot of static electricity in the air. Each time I would place my hand onto the guardrails there was this shock factor. I was so glad that I got the hang of it within a few short minutes, because getting shocked was not my favorite part of the adventure.

My son gave me encouragement when I realized he was not embarrased to be out on the rink with me. A few times he would try and hold my hand to skate with me, but I kept telling him no, because I was so afraid that we would fall down together.

My goal of the evening - would I be able to skate for a good portion of the 2.5 hours we were going to be there? I did pretty good and with the few breaks that I had, I figured my calculations was a good 1.5 hours of skating. We both pooped out at about 2 hours, so the extra .5 was not going to get me to a longer workout goal. This complex is in a warehouse setting, so there was not the best circulation, but boy, I can't believe how much I was sweating. I was surprised at how much of a workout I did get. I could feel the "electricity" of the movements rolling in my legs! I realized at one point that I was not using my left leg that much, just doing the glide movement, so I started to pick it up a bit. Again, fear of falling was in the back of my mind, but I didn't lose it. Drank tons of water to stay hydrated and well, it was totally necessary. I think I had over 40 ounces in just that short time period. I not only amazed my son at how well I did, but I do believe I amazed myself. I plan on going back again and going to encourage many others to join us.

The other thing that was so great about this skating experience was that many others were out there just like me. There were the kids that were falling every little step they took. I don't think I saw one child ever complain that this was not fun. The would fall, get back up, fall again, get back up, and again and again and again. Determined to make it all the way around the circle.

Then there was this moment. I saw this lady come onto the rink with her two girls. You could totally tell she was scared to death about falling. She gripped the guardrails with all her might. I watched as she slowly - and I mean sllllllllllooooooowwwwwwllllllyyyyyy - made her way around the full extent of the rink. She took a huge break about 1/2 way around, but never gave up. She kept plugging along. It was awesome. When she was done I totally told her that I was so proud of her for making the effort. She said she was humiliated, but I am sure her daughters were glad that she made the effort. I thought that she would not try again, but after a break she was back out there. I cheered her on a few more times, and this second round she was going faster, still gripping onto the siderail, but doing it. As we started to head home she was out there one more time and it was wonderful to see that she was now only using one hand to steady herself on the side. I said my good-byes to her by saying that she was doing awesome and again, that her daughters should be so proud that she made the effort to get out there to skate. I think I was doing this because maybe you could tell she was scared, or that she was a bit bigger then me (don't anyone take that aspect wrong) or that she was doing this with her kids or ....oh, I don't know - No matter why I felt this need to motivate her, sometimes I think when you hear words of encouragement from others it makes a difference in your attitude. I totally believe that when I get to read my fellow bloggers encouragement. Yes, I am getting pats on the backs from friends, co-workers and family in my own life, but when the applause comes from a random blogger or someone I totally don't know I feel so energized, recharged and ready to take on the next challenge. 

OH - HOW COOL - my favorite show in the world - CBS Sunday Morning is featuring a story on BLOGGING!!!!! Excuse me - have to watch this............words like blogosphere, we are authentic communities, blogs are a legal world all their own...business can drive many blogs...Tony night blogs for this Sunday's Award show...nice amount of feedback..."never make money writing a blog" - amazing at how many bloggers are actually making a real living by putting fingers to typewritter keys - blogs of all kinds - surfing, self esteem, weddings - many blogs do drop off in the first 30 days - 14 million viewers on one blog - wow, not that is a goal to have - maybe.......

....Ok - to finish my thought on my Saturday night Skating experience - Try something new or try something you never thought you would do again because of fear or you are too old!! I did and so glad that those 8 wheels let me bring out my inner child again!!!!

Staying MOtivated MO