wipe out!

A few of our friends, my sister, G, and bro-in-law, R, N, L, and I planned to go ice skating last night in Richmond. I thought it would be a good experience for N and L, since they'd never been skating before. The last time I wore ice skates was in Winnipeg, about 16 years ago, so rusty wouldn't even be the word to use for me. When we got there, we rented our skates and headed out to the rink. I didn't do too bad at first. Slow and steady. N went around the rink with no problem. I hung around to help L out. When she went on the ice, she was able to use a steel walker to help stand. I used it for myself a few times, too!!! It was cute, she had these tiny ice skates on, with a big ol helmet! She had a bit of trouble balancing and was giving up after a couple of minutes! I felt so bad because she kept saying, "I'm not good at skating..." We all kept trying to encourage her and let her glide (with a lot of help). We wiped out together once...good thing I managed to lean back or she would have face-planted right on the ice! She got a little bit more comfy after a short while, but was still pretty scared. I don't blame the poor child...she was in a totally different environment, with these metal blades on her feet...who wouldn't be scared? Anyway, she decided she had enough after about 15-20 minutes - N sat with her, so I could learn how to skate backwards. OK, so I can ONLY skate in one direction, and do not know how to do anything fancy. R was teaching me how to do figure 8's with my legs. I think I was only half way thru my first 8, when I felt the ground slipping away...oh wait, it wasn't the ground, it was ME!!! Y'know when you're falling, your natural reaction is to try and stop it? Well, that was me. I think I was erratic for a few seconds, then finally, I let myself just fall! I landed on my knee first to brace my fall, my ankle went in a different direction, then I fell back. I swear, if my laces weren't tied as tight as they were, I'd be in crutches right now with a sprained or broken ankle. Everyone was like, "OMG!!! Are you ok?!?!" I was just "yah, yah, I'm fine..." It was quite embarrassing, and a story for the books! I didn't feel too bad after, tho' because G fell a few times, and our friends fell too...N did well...he didn't fall once. But guess who wants to skate more and "master the sport"? Here's a hint...it's not me.