Still Clinging to the Edge?

?A couple of weeks ago I took my son ice skating. It was my first time on the ice since my late teens / early twenties and I was a little nervous about whether or not I would remember how to do it! Those nerves were coupled with the fact that my son had gone ice skating with his dad back when he was 2 or 3 (he’s 6 now) and I don’t think he enjoyed it very much then… plus of course there was my irrational fear that he would fall over and someone would skate over his fingers and we’d end up in A&E! So we weren’t exactly off to the best start!

?Orin can get quite nervous around new things, and he likes to know exactly what is coming up, what it will be like and what kind of things might happen (that’s the 11 in him - but more about that another time!). So on the way I was talking him through the possibility that he might fall over but it won’t hurt, that it will be cold, that he might get a bit wet but that I would be there the whole time and we’d do it together.

?Once we were on the ice and Orin had his penguin to hold onto (imagine a zimmer frame but penguin shaped and built for the ice!) I started to explain how to move in order to skate, rather than try to walk. And of course, he struggled, he wobbled and he fell. But - he looked around and he could see other people around him skating and going fast and turning and spinning. He decided to have a bit of a sit down and I took my chance to skate on my own. I waved as I whizzed past him and he made the decision to get up and try again.?

?We spent around 2 hours on the ice - stopping for a quick snack, a drink and a bit of people watching. I was amazed by his resilience and determination to just keep going. All too often he decides he cannot do something and it takes a lot of encouragement to get him to try again but there was something about the ice that made him try and try and try.?

It was interesting to watch all the different types of skaters that day. There were a few with the full kit, sparkles and all, practising pirouettes and moving beautifully. There were some who were doing their best to hold their children’s hands as they tried to stay upright on the ice. And there were also those who never let go of the barrier, carefully edging their way around the rink, fully focused on what they were doing and negotiating the overtaking process very carefully. But nonetheless we were all there for the same reason, to have fun and experience a different way of moving.

At the end of the session we were all making our way to the edge of the rink, Orin looked up at me and said “I don’t want the penguin”. So he let go and took my hand and we skated a little way before he said “I want to do it myself”. And he let go of my hand and very carefully skated a little way all on his own. It was at that point that I realised he had been on his own journey in these few hours. And at the end of it he was proving to himself that he could do it.

We are all on our own journeys and we are all in different places along the path. Some of us are perfecting our skills, some are trying to stay upright and keep the balance, and some of us are focusing on simply putting one foot in front of the other, leaning on the support available and carefully working our way around the obstacles we face.

Wherever you are on your journey, one thing is certain - it’s more fun when you do it together!

Brightest Blessings

Gemma xx

PS - Join our community "Around The Cauldron" for this year's Summer School - 10 weeks, 20 workshops and a whole lot more! Pop me a message for more information.