Everyone who has lived longer than 40 years old knows that over time, a person’s center of gravity changes—not to mention his—or in this case-- her energy level diminishes a bit.  For some reason, I just have to keep proving that to myself—refusing to believe that my abilities have been altered too much. 

Maybe this is a case of nostalgic longing, but I had been remembering back to the old days when my mom would drop us off at the Champion Roller Rink on Saturday mornings, then pick us up in the afternoon.  We would spend hours gliding around in circles effortlessly—so long our feet would feel strange when finally placed back into our shoes.

When Dan asked my what I wanted for our 18^th anniversary, I said “roller skates”—not roller blades.  Then, once I got my wits about me, I said,  “Maybe I should go to a roller rink and see if I can even stand up on skates.”  It had been, after all, nearly 35 years since I had seriously skated.

The roller rink is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 10-noon, and mostly older – and I mean people over 60 – skate at that time.  So, off Dan and I went.  We rented the skates and it’s a good thing we did that before rushing out to buy any.  Dan was steadier than I, but then, he’s 8 years younger.  I was shaky like a toddler on skates, every muscle in my body fighting just to stay balanced.  I am surprised I only fell twice in that 50 minute trial “run” around the rink 5 times.  I’m going to be sore tomorrow, I know.  Right now, I am just exhausted.

Now the question is – do I return from more skating and adult lessons or do I hang it up?  Maybe it’s time to admit that wanting skates was just a way of saying that I want my youth back.  Maybe I should just move on and continue with things I know I can still do—like walk and bicycle for exercise.  The price of admission and skate rental is a small price to pay for that huge lesson.