Corky Bloom Studio

Sometimes there are challenges out there that seem to knock you down. You put up a good fight, but it was not enough to beat it. Well, there was a challenge that brought me down to my knees. It weighed on my mind for quite some time. Eventually, I found the courage again to face this challenge. On a Saturday, I  looked in the mirror and saw a man who was ready to put it on the line again. I went to my wife and said “It’s time we hit the roller skate rink, again.”

The last time that I went roller skating, I took some nasty falls. On top of that I was struggling on the roller rink as children seem to be passing me. They were skating with ease, that at times I questioned the fact why was I even trying to do this? With each tumble onto the hardwood floor, my pride was getting battered and bruised. I was done with roller skating. Still, something inside of me couldn’t let this children’s activity conquer me. This time, I was going to bring my wife along. She would be the perfect support that I need. Besides, if I’m going to fail, why not do it in front of my wife.

Heading to the rink, we brought a friend of ours to share our experience. If it was going to be a disaster, why not share the fun. At the rink, I put on my old school roller skate on. I look out to the rink and wonder why I was doing this again. There was no award waiting for me to conquer the rink. All I was doing was putting myself in harm’s way. Then I remember my pride, it needed to be fixed.

Once those wheel of my roller skate touch the hardwood floor, I was off. I thrust my legs forward to push myself along. Sure, I was wobbling with each stride, but I wasn’t going to fall. I kept on pushing forward. Kids did pass me by, showing off their skill at roller skating. I stay focus. All I had in my head was not to fall. At long last, I was able to do one lap without falling. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I can beat this now.

We spent two hours at the rink and through all that I didn’t fall. I was able to improve at keeping myself steady and increase my speed. For some reason, this was a huge accomplishment. My ego was flying high. Unfortunately, when leaving the rink, I fell pretty hard. I did the most impressive face plant onto the  ground. I didn’t hurt myself, except my pride again. It didn’t help that I had a crowd laughing at me. Still, I did have a fun time roller skating again. I feel next time, I will go through the whole thing without falling down, but who knows.