The rollerskating rink, a place for many childhood memories were made for me. Now, Avery is making her own childhood memories at the skating rink while celebrating at her friends’ birthday parties. 

“I felt really scared, because I thought I was going to fall,” Avery told me. “But it made me feel happy when I beat my friend Robert while skating.” 

I remember having those same feelings of insecurity and worrying that my friends would see me fall. But the skating rink really reminds me of just my friends. We celebrated so many birthday parties there. I can remember specific things that we did at my childhood skating rink like the limbo, the hokey pokey, riding in the oversized roller skate around the rink, and the couples dance when they turn the lights down low and played Whitney Houston’s “I will always love you”.  I was always skating solo.  I was only 8, so I had better be skating alone!

I hope I’m never too old to go skating with my children and watch them make the same memories I did at the skating rink.