go ice skating

That’s right. Which can only mean I was wrong. I passed one of the outdoor rinks on my way to work this afternoon. Looked okay, felt okay, maybe a little soft, but okay nonetheless. Now I just have to follow up on the status of the rink, as it is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow and get fairly warm—between three and nine celcius over the next few days. This will not bode well for the rink. However, I will just wait and see, as I was wrong about getting it going, maybe I am wrong about how well they can maintain it if it does rain and get warm as they anticipate. Here’s hoping it is here to stay. Fingers crossed.

And plenty of it. Friday morning at 3am (Thursday night) it started to snow, and by 6am we had 30cm accumulation-that is about 7 inches, it had been snowing most of Thursday prior to this, and when it finally stopped snowing yesteray, all said and done, we hade about 100cm-2feet give or take. Well holy shit, the family has definitely taken advantage of the snowfall, and the little man was in his glory. We had a snowball fight, went for a few rides on the tobaggon and then he and I went exploring on some completely untouched snow, that came up to the middle of my thigh, about 3 feet. He loved the day, and we are going out again this afternoon once I get home from work, and then tomorrow, more family fun in the snow. I have to work a few hours OT tomorrow, but will likely be done just after lunch. So the plan is to play, play, play all afternoon in the snow with him. Now, the downside—it is already starting to warm up, and by Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week, if the temperatures reach where they are supposed to and the rain that is supposed to be coming actually materializes, the snow will be all gone. This being said, I do not anticipate them getting any of the outdoor rinks ready, but if by chance the weather network is wrong, then this is prime time to get them going. One way or the other, I don’t care. I want the rinks and snow for my little guy, but don’t particularly love it so much myself.
Aww well, since it’s Christmas time and all, so I guess I will say let it stay. The kids will all love it. Especially mine. And really, so long as he is healthy and happy, I’m not too terribly concerned with anything else.

I love ice skating, and have done so since the age of four. Last winter my wife and I got our son, then 3; out on his little hockey skates about a half dozen times. My parents also had him out, I think about twice. So he is not blazing up the ice, and I am sure, with a full ten month layoff, he will probably be pretty close to where he started last year. He is not really sure how he feels about it. He is always really excited when the option is presented to him, but I think the longest we actually “skated” last winter was about 20-25 minutes. He either gets cold, gets frustrated, or just plain old loses interest if we ever went any longer then that. I really want to get him into this more this winter, and so I am going to do my best to show him how excited I am about it. There are usually three or four free, outdoor public rinks, but as of right now, there isn’t any snow on the ground, and for that, no outdoor rinks. This kind of stinks, because the outdoor rinks are more accessible, and generally, closer to us. Tim Horton’s has free public skating over Christmas break at most of the arenas in town, so I will be trying to co-ordinate my time off with these sessions so I can get him out and help him get his skating legs.
I really hope this year marks the beginning of his love of skating, because from there, it is just a gentle, fatherly prod, to get him into hockey.
Okay snow, time to come and stay on the ground. It is the month of Christmas, and this is Canada you know. Plus my little guy really wants to build a snowman, ice-forts and make snow angels. Old man winter, time to do your thing.