Another first

For the five minutes that baby boy's bob skates actually worked, he was on cloud nine. You should have seen the grin on his face as we glided hand in hand along the canal. It was a dream come true.

The slipperiness of the ice startled him at first, and his legs went all willy nilly. When he realized that mommy and daddy were there to catch him, he relaxed. We watched in amazement at how quickly he learned to balance himself. Once he had gained his "skate legs," he immediately began asking us for a hockey stick. I guess he figured he would be an instant hockey pro. We never got the chance to find out. Those cheap, lousy bob skates came loose and wouldn't stay on his feet. After several repair jobs, one of the skates completely broke apart. The skate party was over.

This unfortunate turn of events was devastating to the little guy. He wailed and wailed as we removed the blades from his boots. The only way we could distract him from his sorrow was to buy him a beaver tail. That worked long enough for hubby and I to get a skate in of our own. Baby boy just munched on his treat as we wheeled him down the ice.

Yesterday we bought him a proper pair of ice skates at a used sports store. We'll be hitting the ice again soon to try them out.