Dan used to skate back in Ontario and I, once upon a time in my childhood, took figure skating lessons. I figured that it would be like riding a bike: once you learn you never forget. That may be true, but the muscles themselves had forgotten quite a lot in the years that intervened. Dan and I met Carolyn and Peter at Ice Oasis for an hour's worth of a "Skill Session". I had no idea what to expect and got a lot more than I bargained for! All I knew was that I used to be pretty smooth on the ice and that this should be easy. So I strapped on some hockey skates purchased just for this event, taped myself into poorly fitting, damp and well-used gear borrowed from the rink's supply room and tottered onto the ice.

Jordan was the instructor and we immdiately were given instructions. Me? I could barely skate across the rink and he was talking about balancing on one blade while flexing your leg. To be fair, this was a mixed bag of skills in this class. Some people had been skating for a while now and were just honing their skills, whereas Dan and I just wanted to be left alone to get acclimated. It was not to be.

By the end of the night we were hitting pucks at the goalie, passing the puck to other skaters, doing complex drills requiring circling cones and quick stops. I was by no means graceful, but I think I did ok. Dan was enjoying himself as well and I think that Carolyn was just as pleased as punch that I was finally skating with her. Needless to say, she's already pestering me to join her team. We'll see....