Ice skating

It was a lovely evening, last night—about 30 degrees and no wind. I decided to check the ice on the creek behind our house to see if I could ice skate. Creeks can be very unpredictable. You think it will be fine only to discover that the water ran over the ice and turned it into slush. Or, that slush froze and made crummy ice that shatters and sends you down to the next layer of ice—totally unskateable! We have always called it “shatter ice.”




Of course, getting a few inches of snow ruins everything, too. Last year, the ice always had too much snow, and I am too lazy to shovel. I didn’t skate a single time.



Well, it was a miracle. I found I had a long stretch (about 1,000 feet) of good ice to skate on, and with care, I could reach a few other decent areas to skate. It was really fun. Though our creek is now part of a public park, I am the only one that skates and very few people are there at night. I was all alone; it was so quiet and peaceful. I love the sound of the skates on the ice.



I have been skating since I was a teenager. Our best friend lived next doore and had a pond, and we would shovel it off and skate much of the winter. I learned how to skate on that rough ice, so it was easy to teach myself how to go backwards, spins and such. We eventually started to skate at the local rink when the pond wasn’t any good. We both even worked there for a while in the snack bar. On slow days, I would take my skates and go out skating on during the pubic sessions.



I am totally self-taught, and I skate more like a hockey player than a figure skater. Honestly, it is the only time I ever feel graceful. I don’t know if I look graceful, but at least I feel like it.



When I was in college, I skated with my then boyfriend. Sometimes, we would go as much as 3 times a week, and we used to frequent 3 different rinks. For Christmas, he got me a really nice pair of skates to replace the hand-me-downs I had been using. I still use those skates over 20 years later. Thanks, Jeff, if you happen to read this.



I no longer skate at rinks very often, but if the weather is right, and the ice is right and I am actually at home for a change, I grab my skates, go down the hill in my backyard to our creek and enjoy one of the few nice things about winter.