The Rinks (Ice: Fill & Download for Free

The ice doesn’t melt because the rink is designed to stay cold enough so that such a thing does not happen.However, one particularly warm winter, I went to an outdoor ice rink and the ice did melt. There was still some ice to skate on, but everyone was pretty much wading through an inch of water as they skated.It was pretty fun though.You know how one way to brake is to turn your skate sideways and do this?Imagine doing this in an inch of water.I would skate really fast up to my siblings, then suddenly stop, spraying them from head to toe with water.Not an ideal rink for skating well, but definitely a great rink for sibling fights!

My son Bryce truly believes he looks just like a pro hockey player when we go roller skating.As he secures his feet inside his rented rollerblades, the boyish face of my young teen morphs into a piercing scowl. This is not a family outing for him. It’s a competition for the Stanley Cup in his mind. He’s in Siberia, surrounded by his Russian teammates. His hockey face is so convincing, I can almost see a beard, a couple scars and a few missing teeth on him.Stepping out of character, for clarification purposes, he hollers, “Hey Mom, watch this! Imagine I’ve got the puck and I’m heading toward the goal.”During his first few times around the rink, he looks like a drunken sailor stumbling down the gangplank, limbs flailing wildly as his desperately tries to stay vertical. He falls multiple times, but bounces right back up effortlessly.He becomes my son for a few seconds to tell me he was just warming up, and then he’s back on the “ice”. I brace myself and pray he doesn’t hurt anyone.He crouches down with his invisible hockey stick and weaves through the slower skaters, falling down less frequently, but still tripping over his own feet, and catching himself before he tumbles to the floor.People begin to realize that he’s not a casual skater. This is no recreational jaunt. Bryce is like a crazed hockey player who retired decades ago, but was able to break through the crowd for one final lap of glory, despite his hip replacements and arthritic knees.And then, as if pushed backwards by an angry opponent, *BAM* …he falls on his butt, and suffers a minor, yet temporarily debilitating, injury to his ego.That’s typically how our semi-annual family roller skating excursions go, but this year was a bit different. Bryce brought his girlfriend. She was expecting to see hockey greatness; her boyfriend being a slick and agile athlete rivaling professional ice skaters, but of course that didn’t happen.The ritual played out exactly like it always does, however Bryce took quite a few “time outs” to help his amateur girlfriend skate around the rink. Still in professional mode, he confidently held the hand of his far less experienced companion.As we changed back into our regular footwear, Bryce, still sweaty and catching his breath, enthusiastically asked, “Hey Mom, I only fell one time, at the end. Did you see it?”“Well, Bryce,” I said, “I saw you fall like 23 times.”“What? No! Mom, those weren’t FALLS. I just decided to prop myself up with my hands a few times. You know, take some pressure off my feet now and then.” He explained in total seriousness, without a hint of play or sarcasm.So, while trying to impersonate his hockey idols on our most recent trip to the rink, Bryce had a ridiculous explanation for his frequent plunges to the floor. The funny thing is, he THINKS we all fell for it.^ Bryce leads the amateur skaters around the rink

Before you read the story, there are some things you should know about my family:We are all humongous klutzes.I come from a Japanese family, where we’re very private about our affairs and like to save face.It’s actually not what my kid said - I don’t have one - it’s what I said. I kind of feel bad about it to this day.When I was in the kindergarten, my family decided to do something exotic, and went to an ice skating rink. It was really fun. At first I was awkward, walking around the edges of the rink. But I had no preconceived notions about what I could or couldn’t do, so I caught on quickly, and pretty soon I was skating away. I started going toward the center of the rink more.All the while, my mother was nervously watching from the sidelines (literally). She had put on skates, but wasn’t comfortable enough to really skate on the ice. To her, I was being incredibly reckless on my first try.Then I saw an older girl, probably a veteran at that rink, do a nifty little spin. So I mimicked it right after I saw it. Miraculously, I was able to do it. I was so happy and proud. But this, and me standing in the smack middle of the rink, sent a huge alert signal to my protective mother’s brain. So she started dashing toward me - after not being able to skate at all for the last 20 minutes.…I don’t remember the exact details because I was young, but my poor mother fell really badly, and fractured her leg. Our trip to the skating rink ended with a visit to the hospital, and now she was on crutches with a cast.The weekend was over, and in the following week, we went back to school. My mom took me to the kindergarten every day. She was not a person to whine. So back she went, on her crutches.The other mothers gathered around her (gossipy I’m sure), dying to know what had happened to her. To the inquiries she said, “I fell down the stairs over the weekend! Silly me!”One of the moms turned to me and said, “What a trouble she’s been through! Were you there when this happened?”To which I said, “Yes. She actually fell at the skating rink, but she told me to tell you she fell off the stairs instead.”My mom says this taught her an important lesson: Never tell your kid to lie.