Rollerskating

My husband and I have a secret.  Before Little Lewie was born, our favorite past-time was rollerskating.  Yes, we had many a date at RollerMagic Roller Rink together, and at one point, considered buying ourselves matching skates and learning how to ballroom dance with them.  (This is an entirely separate story, but RollerMagic hosts a ballroom skate session for old-timers every week.  Imagine our surprise when we arrived, only to see seventy and eighty year-olds professionally "skate dancing"  to the Polka and Big Band tunes.  We were humbled to learn that we only had a 1/4 of their skills.  They were unbelievably amazing.  No broken hips here.)

Well, now that Little Lewie is three, we decided we could gradually introduce him to our favorite past-time.  I know that I didn't learn how to roller skate until I was six or seven myself, but since we've been dying to go and Little Lewie doesn't seem to be bothered very much by falling and stumbling, why not?  The worst outcome would be that he'd hate it (or at least think he hates it until the next time we drag him), and the absolute best outcome would be that he'd beg us to take him again...

Since one of Little Lewie's favorite Team Umi Zoomi episodes is "Crazy Skates," he was thrilled to hear that we were going to take him rollerskating.  (Thanks Team Umi Zoomi!)  Without a hitch, we put on his little rental skates (they were so cute!) and let him try walking/skating in them first on the carpet.  To my surprise, he did wonderful--no fear, no discomfort, no complaining.  We were off to a great start!

Once Daddy and I decided to bring him on the rink, that's when the fun began.  Every time he held our hands, he'd go limp, let his skates slide out in front of him, and fall on his butt.  He thought it was hilarious, but an impatient Daddy got frustrated, and although I had more patience, my back had a hard time trying to help steady him and carry his weight.  Then, at another point, Little Lewie decided he wanted to skate against traffic.  Not only is this "illegal" on the rink, but it's also just plain dangerous for us and all the young skaters on the rink that haven't exactly mastered the technique of skating around us.

All in all, I must say it was a good day.  Though we learned that Little Lewie is still a little young for rollerskating (mainly because he needs to recognize that he can't take temper tantrums and get "his way" on the rink), he did love it and was quite upset when it was time for us to pack up and leave. 

To sum up the experience, I enjoyed

1. Seeing him wear his cute size 11 toddler roller skates.
2. Listening to him comment, "Awesome dude!"  when he saw all the kids skating on the rink.
3. Knowing that good old-fashioned RollerMagic is still up and running after many roller rinks have been forced to shut their doors.  (Both my husband and I both had roller birthday parties at RollerMagic as kids...)

We will come again soon!

Did you ever try teaching something new to a three year old?  How did it work out for you?