Ice Skating Party

We attended our third birthday party today for Garrett. It’s interesting that only the boys in Troy’s class are having parties…or at least are inviting people to them. Garrett apparently is very big into hockey, so he had an ice skating party at the Dallas Stars practice facility. Troy was less than enthusiastic about this party even before we ever left the house. I tried to mentally prepare him for it, so he knew what to expect, but he just psyched himself out.

We got him a helmet, so he’d feel more comfortable and confident out on the ice. I laced up to go out with him. And pretty much nobody but Garrett knew how to skate, so he was in good newbie company. But nothing could convince him to step out on the ice. He stood outside the door, hanging onto the wall, refusing to move. They had a little area cordoned off for less skilled skaters, just like at the roller rink, with stacked buckets that you could hold onto and push across the ice. But even that couldn’t get him out there.

Ultimately, it was the threat of foregoing it all and going home…and him missing out on the fun and grand adventure…that finally got him to place one unsteady blade out there. I gave him a stack of buckets, so he wouldn’t fall, and I held onto him the whole time. He practiced balancing on the blades while I pushed him and his buckets slowly around the ice. Eventually, he loosened up a little (a very little) and let me push him a little faster. I think he actually enjoyed the freedom and danger of sliding at “high” speeds. And 30 minutes later, when they called everyone to get off the ice for the Zamboni, Troy even risked letting go of the buckets and me, and he tiptoed along the wall to the exit all by himself.