100 little kids learning how to skate. that's what we're doing every tuesday and thursday night. it's a program called rink rats, and the husband and i are some of the people out on the ice helping the kids. he is in the advanced "pro" group and i am down with the "rookies."

i love the rookies. pretty much in everything i do, i love the rookies. i cheer for the underdogs. i bond with the runts of the litter. i cry when the struggling movie character achieves greatness. so, yeah. send a rookie my way and i am in heaven.

thursday night i had about 10 of them all to myself. all girls, by the way. one of them just could not figure out how to stand up from a fall. the key is to push off on your one bent knee, but she could not figure it out. i did not want to pick her up.i wanted her to do this on her own. her frustration level was high, even after we dubbed her princess katie and i went down on my belly time and time again to talk to her as she lay on the ice.

somehow inspiration struck, and i grabbed a plunger from our box of tricks and had her use the stick end as a crutch to help her get up. it worked. princess katie's smile pretty much melted the ice. after that, she and that plunger were inseparable. she could skate all over as long as she had the plunger in her hand. i am not sure what's going to happen when we take the plunger away...but in my opinion, it can easily be replaced with a hockey stick, right?

i am sure there is a metaphor in here somewhere about plungers and life and never giving up. anyway, there should be.

happy weekend.