I was a child of the eighties, and as such grew up with a pair of roller skates.  They were “the” thing to have, and I was happy to finally get a pair at some point in my teens.  They were hand-me-downs from my sister, which meant that I had to covet them for a year or so before I got them, which made me appreciate them all the more.  They were the classic white boot/red wheel pair, and were well loved by both of us.  They certainly beat the metal wheels that I had been strapping on my sneakers to that point.

As an adult I looked to reintroduce roller skates into my life and failed.  I looked all over, but roller blades were the in thing then, and skates were nowhere to be found.  I reluctantly settled, but soon grew to love the blades.  I would frequently hope on the bike path, near my west end apartment, and head downtown and back.  It was a long ride and a good work out, with no cars to deal with.

My blading was curbed a little when I moved in with Willy.  We were living in the Market area of downtown, and access to the bike paths meant that I had to face my foe, the car.  I was a little bit of an out of control roller blader, and cars meant that the rides were scary, not enjoyable.  Then we moved back to the burbs, had two babies, and I forgot all about my blades.

When Santa brought Woo some blades for Christmas, I felt a bit of regret that I had not given in to the urge to bring my blades to India.  Woo loves his, and our community is perfect for riding around. Then yesterday, these were posted on the community news group: They are just Goose’s size, so we snapped them up for her. They came with a full set of pads, so she was ready to go instantly. The look on her face when she first tried them was priceless, pure joy.  She is so in love with them, even though she can’t actually move on them.  She has mastered standing on her toes, standing on the wheels, falling, and getting herself back up again.  It’s only a matter of time before she is rocking and rolling around. Now I want to get roller skates again.