Helping hand....and ice skating....

So I went ice skating today. Considering the fact that I’m horrible at it, this was a big accomplishment. At first, I held on to the wall. Breaking an arm is not exactly my idea of a good time. With all of these kids zooming past me like they were speed racing was intimidating at the least. When you see a kid who’s maybe ten years old skating backwards and doing all these fancy moves, it makes you feel very inadequate. Granted, my friends were supportive at the beginning, going as far as grabbing my hands and pulling me along with them. But I couldn’t keep them with me forever; they didn’t want to stay with me forever. So after I told them to go, I held on to the wall all by myself. I even braved the ice a little bit at the time. But I just kept thinking of how pathetic this really is. I’m a grown individual who can barely stay up in skates. When I was younger this wasn’t so much of a problem. But this was my third time in skates in the last ten years and I was feeling pathetic.
Then something changed. One of my friends brought his kids with them. These little ones are adorable. Well, the oldest boy wasn’t doing so well with the whole skating. He was sitting on the bench next to me and after a little while (and a trip to the water fountain) I talked him into going back out on the ice. I know, I who was nowhere close to being a skater, was encouraging someone else to go out there. He trusted me enough to hold on to my hand and let go of the wall. Standing between my friend and I, he held on to my hand like a lifeline. Looking at this little boy, who was putting himself in my hands with no good reason at all, made me realize that I wasn’t so afraid anymore. We grow up and we lose that innocence, that trust that we carry with us. I was so scared for myself before, but now that I had someone else depending on me, I wasn’t so worried about me anymore. Then, the other two little girls wanted to skate with me. And yes, eventually the three of us ended up on the ice because I couldn’t hold on to the both of them while they were going down. As soon as we hit the ice, the little one crawled over and sat down on my lap, holding on to me while I comforted the older one. Even after we fell down, which is what they were trying to prevent from doing by holding on to me, they trusted me. After making another few laps the girls came back to me and wanted me to go back out there with them. Oh, the trust of a child.
Those three little kids taught me a lot tonight. They reminded me that its not always about me. They reminded me that taking care of somebody else and having that person put their trust in you is one of the greatest rewards in life. Sometimes I wish we were all children again, just so that we can experience once again the wonder of the love and trust they show in the world. Now, who knew ice skating could be so enlightening?