Roller Skating Is Much Cooler When You Attract a Child to You
Over the past two weeks, my rollerblading fitness journey has continued by leaps and bounds, with all the passion inherent in your favorite ’90s band reunion tour. After learning how to choose the right skates and the right equipment, and brushing up on the basics , I planned to complete my Lifehacker Fitness Challenge by mastering several skills that I never acquired in the prime of ice skating. Instead, I would end up having fun sharing the sport with the next generation. As a parent of a primary school child, I understand perfectly well that my relationship with the “cool” is precarious. I agree with it. If old people dictated coolness, we would still be, I don’t know, in wide jeans. ( Oh, wait .) So I totally expected my kid to tell me how uncool it was when I skate in the park, practicing my movements, but so far I’ve been working on the last three steps of Get Rolling: The Beginner’s Guide to Inline skates ( see my previous post for more on this), something else happened: my daughter got into skating herself. Now I cannot completely trust. It’s not my first day as a parent, and I know that she cares just as much about what her friends think (and soon more). She has mentioned several times in the past that she needs skates, but every time she tried using a friend’s pair, she got upset that she had difficulty finding balance or managing to move. However, when my new pair arrived and she saw me wearing them, she quickly became interested. The school event at the rink was a great motivation for both of us. She planned to use traditional rollerblades, but decided rollerblades were the best option (a smart move is much easier). I bought her a pair and some safety gear and we headed to the park two weeks after the skate party to practice. At first, she stood uncertainly on the wheels, clinging to my arm as she walked on the stone concrete. Every 15 minutes she rested, and I let go of her hand to roll, practicing my own movements. “You’re really good,” she remarked. It felt good. After a few more practice sessions, we suddenly found ourselves at the rink with all of her friends, and she was thrilled that she could skate without worrying about it, while I could run freely among other slow children. and my parents, feeling like my 16 year old skater again. Yes, I felt cool because I was a better skater than a bunch of little kids. No, I’m not proud. (I’m a little proud.) Working with a child distracted me from developing my skills. Although I tried to do a few jumps (Lesson Four), I didn’t train them hard enough to be confident, and I didn’t move on to the rest of the lessons in the book. But I do not care. Sharing my enthusiasm for sports with my daughter seems to me to be a much more efficient use of my time – and makes it more likely that I will continue like this after this month is over.