Partying with the high rollers

The last time I went rollerskating, it was with a group of colleagues from McDonald's. I needed to ride to the rink with a friend because I didn't yet have my drivers license. And it was exciting to skate when the DJ played music from that new band Bon Jovi.

Uh huh.

It's been that long. And I'm that old.

So you have to know it was a special occasion that gave my kids the chance to lace up roller skates and show off their moves on wheels.

Don't be fooled by Sydney's disco pose.
She was desperately trying to catch herself from falling.

Don't laugh at AJ's arms flapping like wings.
He thought he was doing a disco move. 

It was a special occasion. Sydney's friend Jayce was celebrating his sixth birthday. And he invited Sydney to his party. Just Sydney. (AJ came along because Jeff was working and I had no where else to leave him. This is a key detail for Sydney who, until now, had never been invited to a party without her brother.)

In case you're wondering, no, I didn't rent skates for myself. I was able to walk around the rink a couple times holding Sydney's hand as she skated, until she got her balance. And then Miss Independent was ready to go it alone.

It was painful at first. Not just to watch her fall down, but to see her painstakingly inch her way around the rink while clutching the side for support. She'd skate from one opening to the next, which was a very short distance, then she'd exit the rink and skate back to me on the carpet.

Eventually she got brave enough to go all the way around the rink. Clutching the wall.

A couple more laps and she let go of all crutches. She was literally on a roll.

 

AJ, meanwhile, had to show off his talent and skill. After all, he went rollerskating with his first grade class last year. Plus he knows how to ice skate. As Mr. Humility explained it to me, "I'm the best skater in my class, Mom. Actually, I'm good at a lot of sports, so I'm the best sporter."

Yes, he is the best sporter I know. 

Long after the Sporter had grown weary, Sydney continued to skate. I gave her the "one more lap and then we're leaving" warning, and she proceeded to skate three more laps. The DJ, after all, had announced a girls-only song. How could she miss that?

And so when I motioned for her to come off now, she ignored me, announcing as she passed, "Just one more time."

And then there was a moment of sweet justice. The song ended and the DJ announced it was now time for just the boys to skate. As fate would have it, Sydney was about half way around the rink when she heard it. And she panicked. She's a girl, and a whole bunch of boys were skating onto the rink. And she wasn't fast enough to get off the rink before their song started.

She was sobbing in terror by the time she reached the exit. I assured her she wasn't in trouble with the DJ... just with me for ignoring my call to get off the rink.

Considering that I now have two kids who love to roller skate, I'm guessing we'll do this again some time soon. I might even have to skate with them. It ought to be an interesting experience to go rollerskating when all I have to think about is rollerskating. I'm past the stage of fear that I'll wipe out in front of the cool girls. No stress leading up to the couples skate as I wonder if someone will invite me to hold hands during a slow song. No worries about whether I used enough hairspray to keep my big hair bangs firmly in an upright position.

But that doesn't mean I won't have flashbacks. All it took was the sight and sound of a group of teens - looking far cooler than I ever did - skating by while Michael Jackson's Thriller blared from the speakers.

Imagine if it had been Bon Jovi.