Photo #2 in my series on Capturing Winter…skating. With a bonus addition of hockey-ness thrown in for good measure. This is Youngest Son out on our Backyard Rink. Relatively successful this season. Although almost anything could be deemed successful after last winter’s epic failure. But we persevered and good times are here again. There is something iconically Canadian about skating outdoors. Home video of Wayne Gretzky as a kid skating on a frozen pond in a Tim Horton’s commercial. That part might not be true, but it should be.
Of course not many of us will become international symbols of Canadiana because we skated in our backyards. And there are trials to be endured. The leaks before the rink freezes. The bodychecking and deking of Teenaged Brother. Tears over falls and bruises and the ever-present unfairness of life with siblings. The inevitable days of slushiness as the temperature hovers above freezing. Shouting at The Dog who will take off with the puck at any opportunity…it is so awkward to run through deep snow in skates after a dog who just wants to play.
But we persevere. Why? For a reason to be outdoors in the dead of winter. For family-friendly fun. For laughter. For making memories. That’s why.
Sharing is lovely...
