I Can Be Your Hero, Baby

We finally went to an "open skate" at the civic center today where our minor league hockey team plays.  I'd been talking about this for a while - it's something fun(?) for us to get out and do together, which we desperately need to start doing more of.  However, on the way there my flashbacks of previous ice skating adventures came to mind with so much intensity that I had to finally tell Joe that I cannot ice skate.  I'd been all of twice before.  Once was with church youth group in high school.  I believe that was my first time, fresh in Missouri from South Carolina, and I was so scared of falling that I clung to Susan's arm so tightly that it was either sore or bruised or both the following day.  Alas, I did not fall, which was my primary goal today as well.

As Joe and I walked into the building, I warned him more of what Susan endured, but I'm not sure he fully grasped what he was in for until we hit the ice.  I grabbed hold of him like my life might end if I loosened a finger.  I also strategically placed myself between him and the wall.  Now I consider myself a pretty able woman, as I seem to be able to do a lot of stuff, but I wave my white flag to ice skating every time - all now three of them.  It was a good outing, though, and by the end, I got a lot faster (so long as Joe continued to hold my hand).  The other great part about Joe holding my hand, aside from balance, was that when I got tired I could just allow myself to be pulled.  I was like his wife-wagon.  It was great; we laughed and smiled so much!  He obviously can skate a lot better than me, and I would hope so since he lived in Park City, UT for a time back when he was a rich kid.  This is flawed thinking, though, because these southern kids down here can skate, which I couldn't believe.  I saw an old southern man skating around with a camo shirt on, gliding like he was born on the ice.  And that crushed that stereotype.

Not only was our outing a learning experience at a community level but it was such at a relationship level as well.  It was really good for me to have to depend on Joe.  This ol' handle anything girl had to hold on tight in order to prevent busting my small ill-prepared booty on the cold, hard ice.  I think it was really good for me - a trust exercise.  Our situation in the Army doesn't help my independent streak any, and with Joe so busy studying and everything else lately, I tend to be the HBIC in a big, big way.  It was role-reversal out on that ice, though.  Gotta do that more.