Wednesday, May 21

Pie on Ice

I know I have a tendency to complain about my children a lot--probably because they give me so much to complain about and I'm not really one to get all sappy on folks. But humor me a moment while I kvell a moment. Last Saturday, my sporty little Pie had her first ice skating show. Her coaches had approached me about her participating last fall, and I hemmed and hawed without ever actually saying no, which they took as acquiescence. I had real reservations about letting her skate in a "competition" (at her level, Tot 2, it's not actually a competition plus she skates the whole program with her coach, so she's not alone on the ice) but she so enjoyed working on the program with her coach, I figured, "Hey, why not?"

For weeks she's been talking about the show, and it was only heightened when I borrowed a skating dress for her. "Time to wear dress?" she'd ask. "Time to go ice skating?"

Saturday finally came. We put her in her outfit, and pleased as punch we headed for the rink. It was overwhelming. It was a serious show with two rinks worth of skaters going on, and lots of noise, crowds, and cheers. Pie took one look around and her eyes went wide. I took her into the locker room, where not even Doodles was allowed in, and sat her down. At one point, I had to run upstairs to get her helmet (the photo here was taken at the end when her coach took her helmet off specifically for the picture [**Photo upload is down--it will be up when I can get it up]), I left her with one of the coaches--not hers. "Is that okay, Pie?" She gave me a wide-eyed nod. I left fully prepared to come running back at the sound of tears. There were none. I returned to find her just watching everyone. "Hey, Pie, can I take your picture?" I asked. She immediately hopped up, smiled wide, and posed like a champ. Then sat back down and watched the action. Every few minutes, she'd quietly ask, "My turn to ice skate?" and I'd say, "Not yet, sweetheart."

A half hour before she was to go on, she lined up with her coach. "No parents! All parents please return to the seats!" I didn't think they really meant me--Pie was there with a coach who wasn't her own--but they did. "Is it okay if I go upstairs, Pie?" Again the wide-eyed nod.

I go upstairs and flip through the program. Hundreds of events going on. I went through it once. Twice. Pie is the only two year old in the entire show. Finally, they announce her name. Out she goes to the far end of the rink with her coach, just the two of them, looking tiny on the ice. She stands there, and then her music starts. And she skates her little one-minute program (video, for those with the password, is up, but very hard to see). She falls. She doesn't do all her spins. But, damn! She was cute! She got so many cheers. I was so proud of her, and what's more important, she was incredibly proud of herself.

That little Pie. Feisty in all the right places. You go, girl! (Now to return to our regularly scheduled kvetching.)

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