This weekend my daughter, hubby & I went ice skating at the Pettit Center in Milwaukee with his parents, brother & sister-in-law. A regular family outing! For anyone who knows what my relationship with his family (mother in particular) has been like, this was quite the accomplishment. His parents have never been particularly fond of me, to say the least, but maybe things are changing a little bit? I can only hope. It's been hard maintaining that balance between "I don't care what others think of me" and genuinely wanting to be accepted. I can only hope they see we do love each other and have a good relationship, and with that will come some "kinship" from them too.
I love figure skating. It's been a part of my life since I was tiny. I think I was first put on the ice sometime around 9 months old. Mom was a professional figure skater, so it was only natural. We lived on a lake, so most days in the winter months I was out on the ice, the rest of the year was at a rink. An accident when I was about 11 ended any dreams I may have had of Olympic Gold, but the love of zooming around a rink has never changed. The briskness of the arena, the wind has I move about the ice, even the smell evokes memories of my childhood, and a world that, in my heart, is so uniquely my own. Age now makes me notice when I try to do something that once came so naturally and easily to me, has an element of fear. But the thrill is all the same. The ice is my domain. I feel powerful upon those thin blades. I am strong and the energy comes from somewhere in me that I don't feel anytime else.
Maybe I'm mid-30s now, out of shape, and aware of my own potential injury, but when I'm circling the ice...I can feel that Gold medal around my neck.
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