In a house full of sports, figure skating is mine. Well, that and running. But let’s focus on the figure skating for a moment. I have come to enjoy watching football and golf and I even started cheering for a once-hated hockey team. I go to toddler soccer practice and stand on the sidelines. I spend hours in cold rinks. I jump in the pool weekly with a tentative three-year-old. I actually surprise myself with how involved in sports I am these days after a lifetime of completely avoiding them.
But I have kind of always liked figure skating. Not actually doing the figure skating of course. My five-year-old is already a better skater than I am. But, I love watching it. Growing up, I’d look forward to watching figure skating during The Olympics and would even watch it at other times too. My sister and I would slide with our sock feet along the linoleum floor making up routines, emulating the twirls and jumps we’d see on tv.
This is the third year that I have had the opportunity to go see Stars on Ice. Two years ago I went with a friend, and it was great. Last year I brought my eldest son, and he loved it. This year, I took the whole family. I assumed everything would go swimmingly. Cameron did awesome at the event last year, and I knew that Gavin would rather come with us than be left behind. The baby would be a baby – which means he’s pretty portable and manageable wherever we go. I was really looking forward to it.
The gang’s all here! Last year I had such a blast at Stars on Ice with Cameron. This year I get to do it with all of us (plus one). #jergensstarsonice A photo posted by Laura O’Rourke (@lauralorourke) on
We ended up leaving early. The kids were whining and crying and asking to go home. They were all over me. They wouldn’t sit, wouldn’t watch, wouldn’t enjoy the music. They were stubbornly not allowing themselves to enjoy the evening. The night I was so looking forward to had been ruined.
Before we ended up deciding to cut our losses and call it a night, I managed to see a few performances. They were amazing, especially the first group number, which always manages to get the crowd engaged. Soon after, Kurt Browning came onto the ice and it was announced that this was his 25th year with Stars on Ice. A voice over of Kurt Browning’s voice flooded the arena as he talked about his mentors and the meaning of the song and choreography he had chosen for this performance. It was powerful. It was touching.
In the middle of this ice dance, Kurt Browning came crashing to the ice.
He was fine. He played to the audiece and the audience ate it up. He got up, gave us a knowing look, and then kept skating. He performed beautifully, though not flawlessly, and he was applauded whole-heartedly. The audience forgave instantly. He is Kurt Browning, for goodness sakes. A figure skating star. We love him. He’s amazing.
I drove towards home that night thinking about that fall. I so didn’t want to be bitter at my children that we had to leave, but I really wanted to be at the Stars on Ice show. I didn’t want to leave. I was upset. But my kids had crashed.
Why do we forgive so easily a crash that comes after 25 years of experience and practice, but not give grace to the crashes that hit these little rising stars who don’t have the benefit of years of practice or experience?
The night before the Stars on Ice show, my husband needed to stay late at work. We ended up picking a colleague and him up after 9pm and we didn’t get home until 10:30. My kids didn’t get the chance to have a good night’s sleep before what we knew would be a late night out together. We had changed the routine on them. Even Kurt Browning with his 25 years of experience doesn’t expect to go out on the ice and perform without practicing his routine over and over.
As parents, we expect big things from our children, and that’s important. But when they fall – when they crash – it is okay to extend grace, reach out a hand, and wait for their feet to steady underneath them again. It is okay to change plans, leave events, and get kids back on routine. We can watch kids crash and still applaud them because we love them so much. They are our rising stars.
While our night at Stars on Ice didn’t go swimmingly like I expected, I suppose it is fair to say that things did go skatingly…
I am so grateful that Kao Canada provided me with the opportunity to go see Stars on Ice again this year. They also sent me a Jergens Skincare gift basket which includes some of their newest products. Jergens has also provided me with one gift basket to give away to a reader! Please fill out the giveaway below to be entered to win. The giveaway is open to residents of Canada only and will close on Thursday, May 28th.
Kao Canada provided the Jergens Skincare basket and tickets to Stars on Ice. All opinion and stories are my own and have not been influenced.
So true.
Everyone falls now and then. No one gets to that “knowing look” stage without first learning what they need to know. ;)
We are perpetual works in progress.
I hope you get to go again next year. I wanted to go, but it fell directly on my husband’s birthday and it would have been like Homer giving Marge a bowling ball for her birthday, if I had gifted him with tickets to Stars on Ice. :D
Peady @ Tempered with Kindness recently posted..Twinkle, Twinkle
This has nothing to do with skating or crashing but everything to do with jergens! I tried a sample of one of their new lotions a week ago and CANT FIND IT ANYWHERE TO BUY!!!! It was SO nice. Maybe its in this basket. Maybe I will win! A girl can dream ;)
You’re totally allowed to comment just for the giveaway! :D I wonder what the product was… I can check!
Laura O’Rourke recently posted..When The Stars Fall
Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Moisturizer
I’ve checked two shoppers and two lawtons. Walmart is my next stop!
Yup! It is definitely in this gift basket! A big bottle too!
Laura O’Rourke recently posted..When The Stars Fall
Confession: I can’t skate. However, I have loved to watch skating for as long as I can remember. During the ’88 Olympics in Calgary I was glued to the TV. I even taped the performances to rewatch again and again. When I was in Brownies and Girl Guides we used to travel to Halifax each winter to watch Ice Capades at the Scotiabank Centre. There’s something about putting skating routines to music that is magical and wonderful to watch. I’m glad you got an opportunity to see at least some of the performance this year. :-)
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YES. Oh, Laura.. you hit the nail on the head here. I know that feeling so well. And there’s always next year, right? :)
Laura this was a really great blog; really thought provoking while speaking the truth. I obviously don’t have kids yet, but I think the same concept could be extended in all aspects of life when it comes to forgiveness and patience.
Patience, patience and more patience. I love figure skating but have never been to a show of any kind. My mom and I loved to watch Toller Cranston skate because he was just so artistic and seemed to float on the ice. Jergens products RAWK!
I think that you guys took all the kids out is an achievement worth applauding!
Grace, yes. Especially for yourself. :)
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Teach them when they crash to just get back up and try again. No one is perfect and we all need to take things in stride. It is more important to try
I teach them that crashing is all part of the game, it is how discover our weaknesses and know what to work on.
It’s just part of it, we get back up and try again!
have patience, dont give up just try again
Just encourage them to get up and move on,do the best they can!
patience and more patience.
My tip is to get up and try again. Practice makes perfect but it is also in our failures that we seem to learn the most!
I like to grab a book and settle them with a story..doesn’t always work, but does most times.
get back up and try again!
To get up and try again, everyone has fallen, it will just take some practice to get the hang of it
patience is about the only thing
To have patience! thanks for the giveaway, I love jergans
No body is perfect just keep getting back up and do the best that you can do. As long as you are trying it doesn’t matter how many times you crash.
Be patient with them and tell them all is okay.
I always FIRST breath!! lol Then i try and convince them to make a better wiser decision!
My grandfather told me if you don’t fall down your not trying hard enough, that applies to a lot of things in life!
Same as you – get home to the familiar as quickly as possible.
Kids need to learn how to fall & get up so they can learn from their mistakes. I tell them they will appreciate their success even more if they crash & leanr how to overcome it.
I have an incredible amount of patience! I will calm mine down, ask them to tell me what is wrong so that we can deal with whatever it is and then wipe the tears away!
My son played hockey for years. I started him in skating and skills program first so he would be on par with the other kids on his team. He crashed a lot and learned it was a part of the game.
When kids crash I teach them to get back up and try again, and let them know that everyone crashes and makes mistakes, even grownups. My twitter name is BoSimmsMtl
I LOVED this post so much! As an aunt, as a teacher, and as a future mother…..its so easy to forget sometimes that kids are kids and to be patient. Thanks for this!!
Also, Jergens self tanner is my life!!
I teach them to take a deep breathe and then try to get back up again, and that you have to have patience.
We all have our moments. Try, try again.
Dust yourself off and try again.
Encourage them to get back up again and keep trying
My husband once gave me Stars on Ice tickets as a gift…he knew how much I loved it. We went and had a fabulous time!
Jennifer Wolfe recently posted..Sheep Shearer’s Children In Lake Tahoe
not much once they have crashed, let them be but i try to prepare them with a nap beforehand.
encourage them to get up, and to take a moment to recollect
When my kids crash I give them a break. I remind myself that they’re kids and find humour in it
It happens to everyone. Encourage them to try again!
I encourage them to get back up and try again!
When ever I smell the original Jergens lotion it takes me back to when I was a kid and all my Aunt wore it. Always loved the scent of it.
Patience
deep breaths and health snacks at hand