I took the kids ice skating for the first time over Christmas Break (or some time near that). The big kids all had fun skating while Porter had fun playing in the bleacher chairs with me. And something about it felt so nice -- I think just that I haven't done little things like that much because for a long time even an ice skating trip felt like a big thing and a hard thing that was just too much for me. So it was just really great to have that little outing and have it just be a fun.
We went back to the ice skating rink this morning as one of our Spring Break activities and the kids all had a great time again. I was so impressed with how often they could fall down and just get right back up with smiles on their faces. Ellie especially surprised me, asking not to use a walker today "because if I always use that, I'll never learn to skate on my own". She stuck to the wall at first and carefully made her way around once or twice. Then she started back and forth across the center of the ice counting her falls and happily reporting them to me with fingers raised (3 this time, 2, only 1!). One of her first falls was a big one and I watched anxiously for her to sit up with tears, but right away she untangled herself and looked up at me with a great big smile on her face then off she went again. It was so wonderful to watch these kids working so hard and trying so hard, arms flailing, knees bent inward, wobbling and all but having such fun!
