Learning to Glide

On Friday evening, a classmate invited Anastasia to go ice skating. She seemed eager, and came back with a couple of bruises, but mostly happy about her adventure on the ice. She asked if we could go back over the weekend. I must say I wasn't thrilled, but I'm always up for an adventure.

Twice as a teenager, I tried ice skating. I loved rollerskating, so I thought ice skating would come somewhat naturally to me. Not so much. The last time I was on ice skates was 21 years ago in Sweden. This is how I spent most of the afternoon:



Mamma Eva and Pappa Christer were happy to help, and didn't laugh too much as I flailed about. I just accepted that it was something I can't do and haven't tried since. Until today.

We headed down to the new rink near the baseball stadium, paid our $10, and put on some skates. Fearless Anastasia dove right in, holding onto the rail, and taking off with style.



I held my breath and climbed onto the ice. After a few minutes holding the rail, I somehow got my feet under me and started to feel a bit more comfortable.



We both fell a couple times, little girl's got a bruised bottom and I'm going to have a nice bruise on my knee, but it was a really fun afternoon. Thinking that we may need to plan a Hitzig Family Fun Day adventure soon. Would love to get Orlando out on the ice.

Snow day

We've had a couple of snow days already this year, but the storms haven't really produced a ton of measurable snow. Today, that all changed. Overnight, we got about 12 inches of the fluffy white stuff. Fortunately, this storm coincided with Orlando's scheduled day off, so we all got to enjoy the day together.

First thing this morning, Orlando fired up the snow blower ... for the first time ... since we bought it four years ago.



Clearing the walks was so much easier, Orlando took care of a few neighbors, too. Meanwhile, I shoveled the steps and Anastasia took care of the front porch.

A few weeks ago, when we had an ice storm coming, Orlando bought a bird feeder for our back patio. Anastasia dubbed it "The Tweety Place" and it quickly became the hottest restaurant in town. Today, we had dozens of sparrows, house finches, a couple of cardinals, starlings and doves. At one point, between birdy meals, this pair were just quietly enjoying the snowy day.



No snow day would be complete without a snow ball fight. Orlando and Anastasia had an epic battle. She scored a couple of good shots on the old man.



Anastasia showed a knack for strategy, taking shelter behind a bush and striking a few more good hits.



Daddy's years of experience eventually overpowered her, and by the time they came in she was soaked and giggling. Time for some hot cocoa, grilled cheese, and tomato soup. 

This snow day marked the start of a 5 day weekend for little girl (tomorrow was supposed to be a teacher development day and Monday is President's Day.) We're still waiting for word on whether Mommy has to work tomorrow, but it's snowing again now, and the weather guys are calling for an additional 1-4 inches before it's all over. Could be that we have 5 days home together.

Practice makes perfect

This week, we have been talking about what it takes to become an expert at something. During the Super Bowl, Anastasia said she didn't want to sign up for any sports because she doesn't know how to play very well. Orlando explained that every player we were watching started out as a kid who didn't know anything about the game.

Then we got on to other examples. Orlando let her in on the secret that when she was born, the two of us were beginners at the whole parenting thing, and we have been figuring it out as we go along ever since. Fortunately, I don't think she believed him. It took me back to my thoughts on this evening, when I wondered how on earth I would keep this little person alive.



Sometimes, confidence is a hard thing to come by. Anastasia doesn't always believe us when we tell her she can do something. I don't know if she thinks we overestimate her abilities, or if she's afraid we'll be disappointed if she doesn't do perfectly the first time. We find that she's most confident about the things she teaches herself.

Little girl is taking ballet lessons again this year. While I don't expect her to become a prima ballerina overnight, I do hope that she will gain more confidence, a little determination, and improve her balance thanks to the practice that she gets every Saturday morning. She's come a long way from her first ballet class. In 2011, there was a bit of a stumble.



This season, the class is working with the barre and doing some more difficult balancing work than she did last year. It's fun to watch her practice, working on balancing on one leg and pointing her toes. She's working on keeping herself from wobbling and I think she sees that if she keeps at it, she'll be better in no time.

As we watch the Olympics this week, I hope we'll be able to point out some more examples of kids who started out as beginners and learned to do amazing things through practice. Today, we watched some figure skating and she marveled at how one skater fell and got right back up and kept going. She gets the value of perseverance. She just needs to remember how good it felt to ride her bike for the first time.



"I'm finally an expert! I knew this day would come!"