Determination, Thy Name is Gert

Gert's school had a roller skating outing last night. I haven't been on skates in probably 25 years, but I wasn't just going to sit and watch. That Miss Gert has never skated also gave me reason to put on some skates and help.

Of course, being the blonde that I am, we had to stop at Target on the way to get some socks. Whoops.

I wish beyond wishing that I had video of Gert trying to skate. I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time. And in the interest of full disclosure, at the beginning she was laughing too. Classic one leg goes this way, one legs goes that way, and BOOM. Having been 25 years sans skates, I wasn't totally sure of my own ability to stay upright, so we made quite a pair. It took us at least 20 minutes to get around the rink the first time. Pretty much every step ended in a fall for Gert. At times there were falls within falls. But she kept getting up and kept going.

It was during our third lap that the falling started to be not-so-fun. She hit her bum and elbows hard a couple times, and started to cry a bit. (I promise at this point I had stopped laughing) I suggested maybe we sit down for a bit and rest, but she would have none of it.

So we kept going. Falling. Bumping. Standing. Skating. Falling. Standing. Falling. Skating. The tears started to flow harder as she got sweaty and tired.

I again suggested that we take a break but again, she said no. She kept going. She kept falling. Then she fell and whacked her head. At that point I took over and said "Gert, that's it, let's take a break." But the thought of stopping made the tears come harder. She did not want to stop. At this point, my own tears were starting to flow. Tears of extreme pride. So proud of this little girl who was NOT going to stop until she figured out how to conquer the task at hand. Despite pain, she kept going. I was so amazed. And yet, there were tears of sadness - seeing my baby get the crap beat out of her by some shoes on wheels. But we kept going and going. Friends stopping by to cheer her on. Other parents commenting on her determination. And dear friends, by the last lap, she only fell 2 times. And then she was ready to go. She had to do it on HER terms.

I have never been more proud of that girl.

(For the record, I managed to NOT fall the whole evening... but as we walked out to the parking lot I didn't realize there was a curb, and biffed it. SOOOOO me)

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