Finally, Smallsteps got to hit the ice today. It has been a long time coming, as I have been trying to get her out there for the last two winters - I got vetoed on the first and last year we didn't have enough days with ice on the rinks.
New skates on the feet, helmet on the head - concentration on the face.
I was surprised at how game she was to get out there and how quickly she wanted to try by herself, even though she knew she was going to fall. Smallsteps isn't the most daring of kids, but over the last year she has become much more independent and wanted to stray further from us.
Speaking of "us" - you will notice that my wife isn't wearing skates, as hers were "too sharp" which I translate into - "can't skate". I had my skates on for a while but they are 17 years old and the last time I used them was 16 years ago. The age isn't the problem, the 20 kilos I have put on since then is, and unfortunately, they were too tight and killed my feet within 15 seconds of skating. I took them off after 15 minutes and five hours later, my feet are still aching.
They had also just been sharpened and I realized that they had never been done before, which is probably why I have never been able to slide stop on them - which is why I haven't skated in 16 years. As I said yesterday about not sending an Australian to buy winter gear, this also applies to knowing how to prepare and maintain winter gear.
The rink is at a local school about a kilometer from our house. These are outdoor rinks and aren't cooled, so it has to be below zero to work. This is the first weekend it has been available to skate on and there were quite a few people around, but less than expected.
We were on a little kiddie area, with the main rink boarded up so that they can play hockey on it also. There is an oval next to it as well that has a running track around it and they have also iced this up so that there is the possibility to speed skate a 400 meter track. There were one or two people going pretty fast.
One of the things I noticed when I first came to Finland was just how much they get outside and do things. Australians tend to drive a lot, while Finns tend to walk a lot more. Much of the activity is in nature and this is all year round. Once the lakes freeze, there will be skate and ski tracks made out there too and they will be very popular.
I had a long-standing deal with a friend of mine that when the time came, he would teach my kids to skate, as he has some mad skills as an ex-pro hockey player as well as teaching his own daughters to skate. Unfortunately, he moved back to his native Sweden several years ago to finish his career, so I have to do it. I am guessing Smallsteps is going to miss out on getting the foundational skill lessons to be a world class skater.
But, world class or not, she enjoyed it and wants to go again soon. She would have been happy to have stayed longer, but we took the helmet she is wearing back to get a larger size. She was really disappointed because the only larger ones were in white or blue and she had resigned herself to the white one - but the shop assistant managed to find her a pink one from the back and she was overjoyed.
We won't skate tomorrow though as Smallsteps will be starting her first ever organized classes. My wife found a group dance class close by and since dancing is not only something that Smallsteps loves, it is also something that my wife and I enjoy too, I think she will like it.
We are not the kinds of parents that will enroll her in a million activities as a child as if she is meant to be some kind of virtuoso in everything, but we do want her to experience various skill groups as well as get comfortable trying new things and building a learning model for herself to pick up new skills. Learning how to learn is perhaps the most important skill to learn. This comes through practice, not theory.
We all fall over sometimes.
Taraz
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