Today Simone and I, along with her uncle Rahul, went ice skating in Santa Monica. There was a temporary rink set up in parking lot. It sounds dingy and unsafe, but it was done well.
Simone and I showed up first, and we got her outfitted in size 8 skates. I put them on and laced them up for her, and she toddled around the thick rubber floor with them without any complaint.
Then she, I and her uncle got onto the 'tots' section for small kids. The attendant held Simone's hand and took her around the 10x10 area a few times. She then held my hand for a few round and then Rahul's hand.
All this time, she did not complain once.
We then went onto the big rink and went around twice. Again, no complaints. We tried all sorts of ways to hold her: I held her right hand, her left hand, tried to hold her from behind (she did not want that) and finally Rahul hit upon a winning strategy: she would hold onto his back left pocket. It was very funny.
We kept trying to teach her what little we knew: point the skates forward, lean forward, look ahead and not down, etc.
We then returned to the small rink and Simone did something that melted my heart and made me very proud of her.
She insisted on doing it by herself. Mind you, she has been on the ice for the FIRST time in her life, and that too only for 30 minutes or so.
She did it! She made it across the 10x10 several times. She fell once or twice but she got right back up.
Of course, when she fell, she immediately yelled at the rink and told the rink that it was no longer her friend. But she kept trying.
I was so happy with her. She succeeded in learning something new, but more importantly, she kept trying, and did not let a few falls and discomfort stop her from trying.
I am a very proud daddy tonight!
I immediately decided to find proper skating rinks to take her to, and to buy her protective gear such as a helmet, wristguards, elbow guards and knee pads.
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