Roller Boogie

Fond images rush to my mind of the roller rink of my youth. Where the disc jockey would play the melodious sounds of the late 70s while a sea of harmonious humanity on wheels surged around...

(Record scratch)

Wait a minute... I hated roller skating as a child. The only image I can conjure is of a bespeckled 6-year-old in his favorite Star Wars shirt (the yellow one with Han and Chewbacca on it) clinging to the siderail for dear life as bellbottomed giants sped past him to the beat of Anita Ward demanding you Ring My Bell (my bell... ringalingalinga).

Nightmarish visions of my disco-tainted youth aside, guess who has discovered roller skates. I've been wanting to get Haley a bicycle helmet and knee/elbow pads for a while now. She is almost big enough to reach the pedals of her tricycle, and she also is pretty good on Logan's scooter. (Santa will probably be bringing her a scooter of her own this Christmas. Shhh.)

Imagine my delight when I found a set of roller skates, a helmet, and pads all in her size and all together in one box for less than the cost of the helmet alone! But wait... theres more! Haley has also started getting into the Disney "Princess Collection", which features some of the characters (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc) from their animated classics. Haley's favorite is Cinderella. This entire roller skate set is 100% Cinderella, to coincide with the films release on DVD next week. Score.

She loves it. When we help her to get from one point to another, she loves it. When she falls on her butt, she loves it. I'm not sure she quite gets the concept yet, but she loves it. She was actually doing pretty well when she got so excited she started jumping up and down. This is not the best idea when you have wheels on your feet. A soft landing in some grass later, she was laughing and trying to get right back up.

Maybe the roller skating gene is from Nicole's side.