Let the good times roll…

People often joke that once you hit a certain age it’s all downhill from there. New aches and pains arise, you sleep the wrong way and you wake up feeling as though you got into a fight and you reach a point where you have to turn down the radio to get to where you’re going.

I’ll turn 32 years old in October and I still consider myself to be quite young and healthy. Over the weekend, I came to terms with the fact that I’m not as young as I used to be when I decided to throw on a pair of roller skates for the first time in YEARS and go to Skate Away in Greenwood for a birthday party for my boyfriend’s son.

I felt like a baby deer trying to learn how to walk for the first time once I got my skates on. Then I looked out on the floor and saw a teenager skate himself into a split (on purpose) and stand back up like it was nothing. What a showoff, right? Then there were other people on the floor who were whizzing by and doing other cool tricks – even some of the smaller kids were flying by and we’re still off to the side trying to get from the carpeted area to the hardwood floor. I’m pretty sure little Johnny had already made two or three laps past me by the time I actually started getting into the swing of things after years of not skating.

Did I fall? Yes, multiple times. In saying that, they weren’t hard falls – mainly mini falls where I was unable to stop or when my skates decided it was time for me to do the splits and go in two different directions. As we were all getting ready I remember someone asking how many hips were going to be broken by the end of the day. I’m happy to report that no hips were broken (or any other bones), but some people definitely went home with a couple of bruises and probably woke up pretty sore Monday morning. I’m also pretty confident in saying that everyone probably slept like a baby when they got home Sunday – I know I did!

As for myself, I walked away pretty unscathed aside from pulled muscles (the attempted splits), sore feet from wearing the skates for so long, and slightly sore wrists from where I tried to keep myself from falling so hard.

A fun time was had by all and I couldn’t help but remember all the times I went to the skating rink in Newberry as a little kid for birthday parties or as something to do that would get us out of the house. I’m not sure of the state of that building now, but I think at one point someone tried to reopen it, but I don’t think it was a skating rink – maybe just a hangout spot/bar.

I will say this…While I had so much fun getting to revisit something I did as a kid, I don’t think I’ll be putting on skates again anytime soon. I’m not as young as I used to be and as someone who is on the go 24/7 I really don’t want or need to be sidelined with an injury. I learned that the hard way last summer when I tweaked my knee at the trampoline park in Greenville. But that’s a story for a different day.

The moral of this story, however, is that it’s okay to do things you enjoyed as a kid (no matter your age) while also acknowledging that we’re all getting older and should enjoy being able to do these kind of things when we can. It makes for good memories and great stories to tell kids, grand-kids, etc. one day.