Ice, Ice Baby



Ella and my mom watching me skate.

 Ella has spent her fair share of time in an ice rink over the past two years. Her first trip was when she was just two months old to watch the first practice for the first team Jason coached here in New York. Until now, all of her rink experiences have been hockey related. Last night she got a taste of my sport, figure skating. I was asked to take part in a media challenge with a local synchro team. My mom and Ella came along to watch. I figured my mom would spend most of her time chasing Ella around the lobby...boy was I wrong!



Ella "skating" with Jason when she was
about 4 months old.

 It is hard to explain the look on her face as she watched me skate around the rink. She was all smiles and I could hear her laughing and cheering. She stood at the glass for the entire hour...watching in amazement. When the learn to skate kids took the ice at the end of my session she was pointing to their skates. I think I have a future figure skater :-)

If she loves to skate, that would be great. If she decides the rink is not for her, that is just fine too. I can only hope Ella finds something that brings her as much joy as skating did for me. I sadly haven't been on the ice for a long time. Yesterday was lots of fun and was made even better since I was able to share the experience with my daughter and my mother. My mom says Ella's excitement reminded her of another little girl she knew. It was my mom who would bring me to public skating sessions when I was younger. She wanted to get us out of the house and the rink was close by. I remember the excitement I had every time she said we were going skating. I BEGGED her to skate more and take private lessons. My parents said yes and the rest was history!

Now the search is on for teeny tiny skates for this winter. Jason and I are looking forward to sharing the ice with Ella. She's still pretty young so I'm sure it will be a lot of effort for a short spin around the rink. I have no doubt it will be worth it! Hard to believe that a few months ago we were hoping she would walk and now we are thinking about skating. Time flies!