making a fool of myself on ice

i bought skates over the weekend.

my old ones - which were used and lovely - floated away in the flood last year. sad. and though i'm afraid the really cold weather has left indiana for the year, i had to buy some skates, just in case.

i took lessons when i was younger. that doesn't mean i'm a good skater; it just means i can stay up (most of the time) and fake gracefulness.

i used to be mad at my mom that she didn't make me take more skating lessons. i remember watching gordeeva and grinkov - who remain my favorite skaters of all time - win the gold medal. i also remember my grandmother taking me home from school one day, pulling up to my house and telling me sergei died.

i have watched every skating competition since then, especially the olympics. when i was younger, i stayed up way past my bedtime to see who won the gold medal. i love the music, the costumes and the artistry of skating, and will always prefer someone with artistry (sasha cohen) to someone strength (see irina slutskaya and rachael flatt).

and in a move to capture back a childhood regret, i bought ice skates which i plan to use at the public rink if not on my mom's frozen lake. there is something about skating that i love - but i love pocketing a regret even more.

picture via the woods hutchinson health series