A Semi-Perfect Day

Ever have one of those perfect days where your skating skills are 'on', the ice is perfect, the coach is in a good mood and happy with your skating? Then stuff goes wrong?

Let's call this kind of day "God's Little Joke." And I went to early morning confession before going to the rink, too. I just seems so unfair somehow. I was in a state of grace and a kid still managed to skate into me.  Dear God, doesn't being first in line for confession count for anything?

It turns out we have a non-US elite skater training for his nationals at the rink, so the ice has really been nice for the last couple of months as the rink ups its ice cut game. I don't know if this little suburban rink has plans to be a training rink, but it's nice being the beneficiary of good ice. When a freestyle skater and I stepped on the clean ice for public, we both went, "Oooohhhh."

Then the public showed up. First thing first, a 'man of size' took two steps on the ice and slid right through the center ice. Fortunately, when I told him that area was reserved for advanced skaters, he was nice enough to spend the rest of the session plowing into helpless little old ladies and kids around the perimeter.

I then warmed up and practiced my mohawks. After a half dozen duffers, I suddenly could consistently get them with the nice crossings (on one side), so there's hope for m yet in the swing dance. I was in heaven---sort of.

When Dance Coach shows up he runs me through a few warm up exercises, then we go directly into the Canasta Tango.

We did 6 run throughs.

Only two were any good. Here's the reason four of them weren't:

1. Blocked by a couple who decided to  abruptly stop in our path and kiss. Slam on the brakes.

What? Are we in your way? Sorry.

2. Avoiding traffic, I was headed straight to a cone. Dance Coach went right, I went left. We were so locked in hold that his superior weight and strength pulled me back and I bounced my head on his shoulder. "I should have kicked it out of the way," I said. "Yes, you should have." Dance Coach agreed. With my luck that day, it would have blinded the rink guard.

 3. A kid ran into Dance Coach, bounced off him, stayed on his feet, crossed in front of us, then immediately ran into me. And stayed on his feet.

This is the only explanation

4.  Five or six hockey boys decide to have a play fight in our path and they were too big a crowd to skate around or through. "Run 'em down," I joked under my breath. Dance Coach laughed and pulled up instead. The never even noticed. Oh, to be male, 11 and invincible.

I don't care if your mother loves you. GET OUT OF THE WAY!

 The other two run throughs went pretty well. The only comment from Dance Coach was, "You're not showing Tango Expression." With gritted teeth I gestured at the crowd, "Trying not to kill someone."I need those laser eyes on the crowds ahead of me every second. I don't dare not look up at the ceiling like Tango Expression dictates. What if I had skated into that cone?

This could have been me!

Still, God gave me some sweet mohawks today! Swoon.