things mom taught me

My mom taught me to roller skate when I was about six years old. One afternoon, we went to the local roller rink. She laced up my skates then laced up her own. Off to the side of the main skating area, there was a small rink like a kiddie pool. This is where I learned to skate.

Mom told me how to push off with one skate while rolling forward on the other. Her words were confident, even as she walked around the circle in her skates clinging to the side of the rink. My mom cannot skate.

Her instructions were precise. I did as she said, and although I was shaky and afraid to roam too far from the side, by the end of the day I was skating: push, glide, wobble… all the way around. I was ready for the big rink. Mom walked a lap with me, clutching the side with one hand all the way around the big-girl rink.

Several years later, I wanted to learn to knit. Mom crocheted. But like skating, she knew the mechanics of knitting. And when I did as she said, I learned to knit.

Thanks to my mom I made it through the many Skate Parties that were de rigeur in the Eighties (Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” still rings in my ears). Also thanks to my mom’s lessons, I am now able to knit things like this:

(a baby shower gift for Kristi… the sweater is unbelievably tiny)

These days I spend my nights watching reruns of Gilmore Girls, my hands busy with yarn and needles. I mostly knit scarves, but have taken up hats recently. While I don’t want to bombard you with crafts, you can expect to see a few more knitted pieces here as we settle into winter…

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Tagged as: 80s, knitting, kool & the gang, mom, nablopomo, roller skating