Figure Skating

Zoe was inside with a cold today, and I've been itching to try out my new figure skates, so I decided to head down to the lake near our house. Besides, it was such a gorgeous day that I couldn't stand to stay inside!

I sat down on the dock, carefully slipped off my boots and tied on my figure skates.

I left my skate guards tucked safely away in my boots and set out onto the ice.

I had to clop out quite a ways to find smooth ice. It has been alternately raining and snowing over the past few weeks, which makes for very bumpy, crunchy ice that isn't ideal for skating, especially when one has figure skates with teeth on the edge.

After tripping and stumbling over the bumpy areas, I finally reached a suitable patch and began to push, glide, push, glide, across the ice. Suddenly, I wasn't Charlotte Tate anymore. I was Ainsleigh Adams, the fabulous, two-time Olympic gold-medalist. Ainsleigh never fell, never stumbled, and was beloved by everyone who knew her. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them, I had suddenly been transported from the frozen lake to a large, glittering stadium packed to the breaking point with my fans.

I looped once around the ice, and the crowd cheered as I passed by the grandstands. I stopped in the middle of the ice and held up a delicate hand for silence. For a moment, all that could be heard was a quickly stifled cough in the audience. Then, in a breathtaking swell of stringed instruments, the music began and I was off. 

I attempted a difficult spin and the crowd roared its approval as I came to a gentle stop with my arms still poised above my head.

I skated, jumped, glided, and spun around the stadium to the cheers of the crowd, and finally the finale approached. I would skate one-legged around the entire circumference of the stadium. I stopped for a moment to prepare myself.

I took a deep breath, pushed off the ice, and slowly raised one leg into the air. The audience nearly lifted the roof with their cheers. I closed my eyes, feeling as if I was soaring.

Then, suddenly, I was brought back rather harshly to reality. In closing my eyes, I had veered off course, and had hit one of the crunchy patches of ice. The teeth on the edge of my skate blade caught, and I went sprawling onto the ice.

I sat up, bewildered. Ainsleigh Adams never fell! The stadium was gone, and my only audience was a crow that happened to be flying over. I closed my eyes, hoping to be transported back to my world of pretend, but when I opened them, I only saw the frozen lake.

I sat there for a moment more, then gave a little laugh and started making my way back to the dock. I could only imagine how Zoe would have laughed if she had seen me!

I tied the laces of my skates together again and slipped on my boots, then headed back up to the house.

Despite my fall, I did have a good time on the ice. Do you like figure skating? Playing hockey? Playing pretend?

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!