I finally graduated from skating in my kitchen! After a few sorry attempts on my driveway, I decided I was ready to leave home and skate on an empty parking lot by the lake near our house. It proved to be a windy day—whitecaps on the waves of the lake. The wind did not help with balance, but I was determined to do this. After skating once around, I thought I had enough, but then I decided I should skate for at least as long as it took me to don all the gear—elbow, knee and wrist braces and a helmet. So I went another round. And then several more. Here is what I learned today:
1. If you are skating with the wind at your back, all you have to do is stand there. I think it still counts as exercise. Anyway, I counted it.
2. If you hit a pebble, your skate stops immediately, but you do not.
3. Park the car in a place where you can crash into it when you need to stop.
Not bad for the first time out. I managed to skate for about 40 minutes without falling. People have asked me WHY I am doing this. I am doing this because my doctor irritated me. She said that people MY AGE have to do more weight-bearing exercises. Biking, she said, didn’t count. Buying inline skates was my way of being partly compliant and partly rebellious. It is weight-bearing and age-defying. I have to confess though, I have developed a profound respect for those kids who work for Sonic and deliver your food on skates. One pebble on the sidewalk could make your meal food for ants.
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