With one son who plays hockey, one son who speed skates plus my own newfound love of speed skating, I’m at an arena a minimum of five times a week. Minimum because those five times are the mandatory ‘you need to show up for a practice or game’ times. I am a huge advocate of families being active together. For us, skating is the perfect opportunity for our family to have fun at a sport we all enjoy, so on top of those five times, we go to a public skate at least once a week.
If you don’t already know, when I’m not writing here at YMC, I write on my personal blog Speed Skating Mom where I document my attempt to learn how to short track speed skate. When Erica offered me a chance to talk to Catriona Le May Doan, I was all over it. Who is Catriona? She is a speed skater whose world record-setting wins captivated millions of Canadians.
You’re juggling right now, aren’t you? Not in a circus-like way with balls or flaming batons but real life juggling - your family, your friends....maybe work too. You’re trying to keep on top of the laundry while helping your kids with homework. You’re changing a diaper while on hold with the doctor’s office. You’re cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring.
The last I wrote about speed skating, I was up in the air as to what to do. I wanted to try it, Son No. 1 was vehemently opposed. Since then we had a little sit down where I explained I wasn’t only “a mom” I was a person too and that he’s inspired me to try something new. Long story short, if I promised not to skate any meets in the first year, he was all for it.
So death skating has sort of grown on me. I mean, I’m still worried that Son No. 1 is going to have some sort of horrible fall, smashing into the mats and breaking every bone in his body while razar sharp ginzu knives whiz past him at break neck speed and he’ll become the number hit when you google “freak speed skating accidents”.
