CHATEAU MABILE

So last spring I was watching an NHL playoff game. Liam ended up watching right along with me. Sports have never really held any appeal for him so it was fun seeing him so into it because I love sports and would really love to see my children at least give them a try. After watching a bit of one game he decided right then and there that he wanted to play hockey and that he liked the New York Rangers. So ,this past week, a promise was kept. Liam started pre-hockey! Now pre-hockey is just ice skating. No, pre-hockey is just learning how to stand up on the ice and fall properly (oh yeah, there's a correct way). Liam was so so excited to start that he was jumping up and down all morning. Then, once we got there and saw people out on the ice, he was really ready to go. Greg and I were complete Martians to this. We even had to read a pamphlet on how to properly tie his skates! Anyway, once it was time for class, Liam was the first to step out on the ice...and bust his butt. And y'all, for the next 30 minutes, we watched him struggle to stand and then when he would finally stand...bam! On his butt again! And that's when we learned that ice skating, in hockey skates (which we were told were harder to learn in but he may as well start with them), for a four year old , is HARD. And frustrating. There were about 5 in his class. Three had taken lessons before, but Liam and this little 6 year old were total newbies. We watched them look at each other like, "why did we want to do this again???" But both kept trying and that's why we left the rink feeling so proud. Poor Liam, we had told him that he would be falling a lot, but none of us realized that that is pretty much all he would do! Ah but this was only the first week and he has about 8 more to go! I can't wait to see his progress and am so excited that he is getting his first real lesson in the value of trying and not giving up. See why I love sports? (He's the one in the blue helmet.)