Our hockey boosters does a "free" session for four year olds, and all you pay is the equipment rental fee of $15. For an organized sport, that is a steal! So we signed up, tried on skates and pads, and showed up for the first practice.
Did I mention Rocket Boy has never skated? Yeah.
We were told at sign-up that it was totally normal for the kids in this session to not know how to skate yet and that they would get the "walkers" and learn to skate as a group.
Well lets just say that wasn't the case. It was totally unorganized, and most of the kids were older than four and already knew how to skate and move a puck around. We were a bit surprised, but made the best of it.
Making the best of it was basically Lumberjack and I taking turns trying to teach Rocket to skate. And um, it didn't go well. The few times he did get on his feet, he was so excited he would madly giggle and fall over.
Forgot to mention I was on the ice with a 25lb baby strapped to my back. In slip-on shoes. And very unprotected from flailing skates. Ouch! I would say, "look, see this picture!" but I'm sure you can guess that I didn't have much time for photo ops.
After the first ten minutes, Rocket was in tears. I was trying to be very positive and offered that we take a break (since he wasn't really in the class at this point - any non-skaters were left behind, much to the confusion of myself and other parents who were told the same as we were).
He was not interested in taking a break - he kept at it. Again and again he fell. Again and again he got up. He had total joy when he managed to stand up for even a second. He said again and again "I'm brave, I'll keep trying". Even though this is a rote phrase for him that we hear often, randomly, this time he really had passion behind his words. He refused to give up.
That courage - to get up again and again - it inspires me. That joy - to celebrate standing for even a moment - it makes my heart glow. And I realize in moments like this that basically every day is a test of courage for my Sensory Kid. Every outing to a loud place, every interaction with other children - all of that takes courage for Rocket.
Other people might not notice. In fact, some people may judge us, our parenting, or our kids. But parents of Sensory Kids can see this miracle of character each and every day. We know how brave our kids are, and I know it inspires me every day.
