Sofia Takes to the Ice

A friend and co worker of mine has been asking me to "get Sofia on the ice" for months now. A former professional figure skater himself, he spent years teaching and coaching, before getting into real estate in the 80's. He still taught on the side of a number of years and only recently, the real estate market being what it is, got back into it. After months of his bringing it up, I finally decided to give ice skating a try, secretly hoping Sofia would not like it as the thought of "coming over the hill" every Saturday was not something I wanted to add to my schedule.

We decided to do a low key "trial run" to see if she had any interest/ability last week. It was all in good fun as "Teacher Tom" is a major character. He's one of the best real estate agents I have ever known (and I've known hundreds), indulges me with all his crazy life stories and sings show tunes like nobody's business.He does have a somewhat gossipy/brutally honest side which can be tons of fun for overhearing good scoops, but notsomuch when it's directed at me. (i.e. "Oh - your hair looks good today, so much better when it's not frizzy"), so I was a little apprehensive that he might come off as too harsh in his critique.

Much to my surprise, Sofia did great. He noted immediately that she had "thick ankles," which I wasn't sure how to respond to (apparently a good thing in skating.) I can only hope my poor 3 year old doesn't grow up with an ankle complex. As she was mostly preoccupied with the princess sticker machine a few feet away, I'm fairly certain that this comment went over her head.

Sofia and Teacher Tom took to the ice and at first, she was rickety, but quickly she got her balance and before long, she was barely holding on to his hand. They continued going around the very crowded rink for about 10 minutes and I could tell she was enjoying herself. Teacher Tom commented that she was strong and had great balance. Then...she fell. She got up quickly, which also impressed him (he said that is a lesson in itself), but I think the biting cold of the ice scared her. After that, she proclaimed she was done and wanted to go get an iced cream. (We did, chocolate chip.)

Teacher Tom seemed impressed with her ability for her age, but said focus is sometimes an issue for the young kids. (Ya think?) He told me not to bring it up, to see if she did on her own. Of course, I couldn't resist asking her if she wanted to go ice skating again.

Long pause. "No...I don't think so, " she said. "It makes me tired." Another long pause. "Maybe when I'm 4."

Just the answer I was hoping for!

Sofia takes to the ice



Learning how to trot on the ice



And off they go!



Still having fun



Look, ma, no hand!



I think he lost her when he tried this maneuver



Yes, that is the look of sheer terror