A couple of weeks ago, our PTA sponsored a roller skating night at the local rink. Eric hates skating, so we haven't been as a family in years, but on this night he was working and Kaela was dying to go. So she, Ben and I paid our buck and headed out.
I was going to just let Kaela and Ben skate and hold Ben's hand on the carpet, but a few minutes into it and I couldn't keep my tapping toes still. Confession: I still love roller rink music and strobe lights! A lot! Neither of my children were exactly gliding around the rink, so I decided to don some skates, too, and we could awkwardly try to navigate the sea of more coordinated children together.
The kids from school were so enthusiastic to see a teacher on the floor, and while it wasn't exactly graceful, it sure was fun! We skated for a couple of hours--at one point even being filmed for the morning school newscast--and by the end of the night the three of us were feeling pretty sassy. We had done it! And had not compromised our tailbones one single time--even though my thighs burned all the way through! We even bought some of those fun glow sticks to use during black-out skate, and jabbered excitedly for the next few days about our fun night out on skates.
We were so sassy, in fact, that a few nights later we talked Eric into going back with us. The thigh burn had begun to wear off, but the music in my head hadn't...and I figured maybe Eric would see how much fun he's been missing if he saw it for himself. This time, it was a Friday night.
When we got to the rink, Eric sent me in to scout it out while he parked. Well...I'm not sure how to say this without using the "delinquent" word, but the crowd was different. I knew many of the much bigger kids that were there this night--because I had called their parents or kept them after school when they were younger. This group of kids would not be nearly so forgiving if they were to see me fall, and I shuddered to think about it. But I put on a brave face, told Eric that it was just a bunch of middle & high schoolers, and we agreed to give it a try.
Two steps into the rink, and Eric volunteered to take Ben out for ice cream instead, and said they'd pick us up in an hour. Kaela and I, buoyed by our rosy memories of the other night, decided to stay and give it a whirl.
Well...we whirled all right. We were in way over our heads, like a couple of minnows trying to swim a channel with the sharks. We didn't fall down and have our faces run over, and we didn't cower in the corner...but let's just say we didn't even notice the fun skating tunes, either. We stayed in full concentration mode until Eric and Ben got back--not soon enough. It was a far cry from our earlier excursion.
It wasn't until we climbed safely into the car that I began to notice the burn traveling up my arm. I mean, it really BURNED! Felt like my arm may very well shed all of its skin at once! I had managed to give myself a carpet burn on the carpet-covered rails that surround the rink that keep you from tumbling headlong into the spectators...and it was a nasty one! Eric started calling it my "red badge of courage" and that cracked me up, diverting the need to drive to the Immediate Care Center post-haste for some industrial strength aloe and TLC. We've been laughing about it ever since.
Well, my red badge of courage has finally begun to heal, and has settled into more of a semi-permanent pink reminder of our nights of fun. We were beginning to wonder what our next adventure would be, and yesterday I got this email:
Dear Mrs. P,
I noticed that you had not signed up to play basketball in the Teachers vs. Students basketball pep-rally game to kick off testing. Since your kids won the Open Response challenge, just wanted to let you know that you WILL be shooting some hoops and making a fool out of yourself in front of the entire school--for the kids. :)
Sincerely,
Your Boss
I wonder if there are any good, funny literary names for broken bones or public humiliation?
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