Roller Skating: Good Times, Good Therapy

Our friends Lauren and Nick asked if we'd like to join them and their kids at Roller Skating Night at Thomas Jefferson Community Center. Apparently, this is an Arlington thing to do which we've never heard of, much less considered attending. We were in!

This wasn't my first time skating around a gymnasium to the popular tunes of the day. That honor goes to the after school skating parties we'd had in elementary school (Shira claims it was at Brookside Elementary School; I've got no way to confirm this). While the details are now hazy, I remember clearly that these skating parties were optimized for the coordinated and the popular; of which I was neither. I can clearly recall skating to Van Halen's Jump, with the more capable skaters taking flight at the lyric's command to jump. And then there was the couple's skate. Perhaps I worked up the courage to ask a girl to let me hold her hand as we did loops in the gym, probably not. Like I said, it was for the coordinated and popular.

Well, this last Saturday night I got to show my 8 year old self just how far I'd come. OK, when the DJ played the Cupid Shuffle, I had no dance moves to offer up. I gingerly skated around the gym with exactly the same lack of grace I had as an 8 year old. But in terms of holding the hand of a pretty girl, well, that part I'd absolutely nailed. One out of two, ain't bad.

If you're looking for some family fun, you should definitely check out the Roller Skating nights. If nothing else, it's cheaper than therapy.