Winter, and specifically Christmas
time, brings to mind wonderful images of lights, trees, snow and ice.
Ice skating itself is practically synonymous with the season, so
there was no hesitation when my wife suggested we take the boys to
Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, as it is the only outdoor rink I am
aware of.
This was not the first time for the
boys. In fact it was probably the third time they have done this
activity, albeit three years apart. Still though, Cool Dad was
thinking the whole way down about the rink. How he and his boys, like
the Gretzky family, would overtake the rink and skate through the
crowds with a combination of grace and power. After all, the boys had
done it last year, and would surely be even better this year. They
had been practicing for the last twelve months, not on skates but on
skateboards, bicycles, and scooters. Surely this would pay off big
when they hit the ice.
As we strapped on the skates the moment
was tense, like the locker room before the Stanley Cup finals.
We made our way out to the ice, and all systems were go. The boys
walked across the rubber mats like they were pros, not in any way
awkward due to the three inch blade protruding from the bottom of
their feet.
The moment had come as they approached
the slick ice. I went first and turned around to help them, prepared
to catch a fall that often happens during the transition from rubber
to ice. I circled and they were right there. We had made it. Now all
that was left was to get in hockey formation and make our way around
the rink.
Both boys quickly found their way to
the wall and held on. While this wasn't what Cool Dad had in mind, at
least they were on the ice. Slowly they made their way around.
“Alright”, Cool Dad thought, “they just need some time to get
used to it. Maybe a lap or two.”
The process was slow as I guided them
around the rink, not straying far from the wall. As we finished lap
one, Colin saw a metal frame, like a walker on ice, for unskilled
skaters. Cool Dad didn't love this, but as long as the boy was on the
ice, we were still in the game. After one lap, the behemoth green
machine that is the Zamboni was summoned. Colin was just past the
first turn when he heard the sound. He quickly did an about face and
skated against the flow to get off the ice. Fortunately many others
were doing the same.
However, in the activity, he somehow
thought the Mean Machine was going to unleash it's mass while he was
still on the ice. Once the ice cleaning was done, he decided he had
enough.
While Cool Dad didn't like this, (how
was the boy going to begin his hockey career on the stands), there
was hope that Colin would see the fun his father and brother were
having and rejoin the lineup. Then Colin discovered the snack bar,
with the aid of his mother, and before long was more engaged in
Cheeto eating than skating. While this was hard to take Cool Dad
still had his wing on the ice. Until the wing saw the bag of Cheetos.
It wasn't long before Max joined his brother. Cool Dad felt like he
just watched Messier and Lemieux retire at the same time, before they
even got started.
While this was humbling for Cool Dad,
the lesson is the same. Boys will do what they will do, and there is
nothing I can do about it. I can blame Mom, for no good reason, or
just shut my mouth. (Of course that didn't happen.) There's no doubt
that the family had fun. Will these boys be the next front line? Do
they have a hat trick in them? Who the hell knows. And in the end is
any of that important?