Yeah, it's been a while

In case you are wondering, I did sort of fall off the world.  At least the cyber-world.  We had a computer virus at our house that took one computer out of commission.  Since the other three people in my house were writing lesson plans, entering grades, etc., it seemed that my blog should take a back seat.

I haven't done much skating.  Even though Carl's hours have picked up and he's done with classes, we've had family commitments with the holidays.  I've had more hours at work, too, which means fewer hours for skating.  Carl will be student teaching this spring, so I want to wait on skating until I know how that will effect his tutoring job. 

So, instead of skating, I've been visiting massage therapy schools.  I'm seriously considering going to massage therapy school once Carl is under contract with a school district. 

My dream job would be to get hired by a luxury hotel chain and get free rooms whenever I travel for skating competitions. I'd like to focus on sports massage and build relationships with coaches who would refer their skaters to me.  And I'd like to work with skating rinks to provide chair massages to mom's during learn-to-skate classes.   

This seems like a good step to me since I don't really don't know what I want to do.  I need a lot of autonomy at my job.  I'd like to be active and social.  All of that fits massage therapy.  And if I find later that it's not what I want, it's not a huge investment in time or money. 

It's been so long

The last month has been, well, very disappointing.  I've gotten in a practice here or there, but nothing like I got used to in the spring and summer.  Club ice was supposed to save me during the down time, but between family obligations and judging, I've only gone once since mid-October.

IceHubby is working more hours now, so I made sure I got in some skating lessons.  The first lesson just frustrated me because Coach just basically said, "It'll be fine once you start practicing again." 

Yesterday was the first club ice in ages.  I got to see friends I've missed.  I broke one of my rules about lessons and threw in another lesson, even though there hadn't been a practice in between this one and the last one.

It was worth it.  After 6 or 8 weeks of sluggishness, couch potato after work, and generally just being grumpy, I finally got motivated enough to exercise, stretch, and practice my jumps tonight.  Yes, I got Prospero, the greyhound, to help me. 

Fantasy Figure Skating Update

Last week, I rose a little bit in the USFSA Fantasy Figure Skating rankings, but not enough to brag about.  Here are my picks this week - my strategy stayed the same - choose the highest ranked skaters possible and guess on the rest.

Ladies A Miki Ando, JPN

Ladies B Kristine Musademba, USA

Ladies C Joshi Helgesson, SWE

Men's A Tomas Verner, CZE

Men's B Samuel Contesti, ITA

Men's C Jialiang Wu, CHN

Pairs A Lubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze, RUS

Pairs B Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin, USA

Pairs C Huibo Dong/Yiming Wu, CHN

Ice Dancing A Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali, ITA

Ice Dancing B Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell, USA

Ice Dancing C Xiaoyang Yu/Xun Zheng, CHN

How do you practice off the ice?

The other day, I was using my aerobic step to practice my jumps on the living room floor.  It's not terribly challenging because we only have one set of risers.

After a few minutes, I noticed that Prospero, our greyhound, was lying down near the kitchen, waiting not-so-patiently for any scraps that might come his way.

I looked at him, then I looked at the step. I looked again to double check.  Even lying down, Prospero was taller than the step.

"Prospero, stay."  Then I very tentatively waltz-jumped over him and cleared him easily.  If he noticed that he had become a training aid, he didn't show it.  He never took his eyes off the kitchen.  So, I did about 5 more jumps over him.

Yesterday, at my practice, I imagined him lying on the ice and worked hard to make sure I didn't hurt the imaginary dog.  I'm pretty sure that improved the height on my jumps. 

So, what do you do to practice at home?  Do you practice spins in your socks on the kitchen floor?  Have you found a way to practice Salchow's without twisting your ankle?  Let's hear what you do.

Music to my ears: I am overweight

I will admit that the biggest challenge of not having weekly skating lessons has been motivating myself to keep working out off-ice.

I know it's taking a toll.  Last time at the Galleria, I did a lap of power stroking . . . pant . . . pant . . . gasp . . .

I've also been worried about the toll it's taking on my weight.  In January, the week before we moved to Houston, I weighed 201 pounds.  We got a Wii for Christmas, so Carl got me a Wii Fit to help me exercise.

Every time I check my weight, it starts by checking my BMI.  The little slider used to go to the very top of the bar, and Wii Fit would tell me, "That's obese."

As I lost weight, the slider would only go to mid way in the top of the graph.  But the Wii Fit would still tell me, "That's obese!"

I asked my friend, Annie, about that.  "How long is it going to say that?"

"Every time until you aren't obese."

Yesterday, I stepped on the Wii Fit.  I braced myself for the hated phrase.  I watched the slider.  It went to the bottom of the obese portion of the chart.  Wait for it, wait for it . . . and . . . nothing.  I blinked a couple of times to make sure I was reading it correctly.

I am no longer obese.  I am now officially only overweight.

Happy Halloween

Last night, we went to a Halloween party.  Of course, I intended to go as Dorothy Hamill.  But, when reality set in, the costume had to be scaled back to "generic figure skater".  I even ran out of time to make myself a gold medal. 

Fortunately, The Devil showed up at the party, and by gum, he had a medal around his neck.  It didn't take long for us to strike a deal:  my soul for Olympic gold.  Soon, I was trotting around with my medal. 

But deals with the devil have a way of not going as planned.  "Gold in 2014, right?"  I asked him the next time I saw him.

"No, 2012 Summer Games."

Ice Pact: Fantasy Meets Reality

Ice Pact: Fantasy Meets Reality: "It turns out my fantasy figure skating is worse than my real figure skating. If that's even possible. After NHK Trophy, I'm ranked 506 out o..."

I didn't fare much better. 374 out of 574. My strategy this week: use Ice Network's skater rankings and just choose the highest ranked skater for each category. With the exception of the C team - that's just guess work.

2010 Skate Canada International Event
Ladies A Alissa Czisny, USA	Ladies B Sarah Meier, SUI	Ladies C Alexe Gilles, USA
Men's A Nobunari Oda, JPN	Men's B Alban Preaubert, FRA	Men's C Jeremy Ten, CAN
Pairs A Lubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze, RUS	Pairs B Huibo Dong/Yiming Wu, CHN	Pairs C Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch, CAN
Ice Dancing A Sinead Kerr/John Kerr, GBR	Ice Dancing B Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein, USA	Ice Dancing C Stefanie Frohberg/Tim Geisen, GER

Life on the Edge: Musings - "Old School" Part II: The Ladies..

Life on the Edge is one of the blogs I read. I just had to share this post with you - it has lots of vintage videos of skating's most iconic ladies, including, of course, Dorothy Hamill.

Life on the Edge: Musings - "Old School" Part II: The Ladies..: "I just realized that I never posted my 'Old School' favorites from the ladies. After I re-posted the link to the men's videos, several peopl..."

Judging

Today was Autumn Fest at Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club in Sugarland, and I got to participate in the sport in a very different way than I normally do:  judging.

Although joining USFSA was one of the most exciting things I've ever done, I had to be honest with myself.  Even though by being a member of USFSA,  I could qualify for the Olympics . . .

Everything is a blur around me as I exit my final combination spin.  The crowd explodes.  I curtsy to the judges, then turn to the audience.  Seeing the American flags, the posters, and the signs, it finally sinks in:  I won the gold.  Overcome with emotion, I wipe the tears from my face, leaving long streaks of mascara on my cheeks. . . .

Oh, excuse me.  Was I daydreaming on the keyboard?   

Reality is that I will probably need a walker to hobble onto the ice by the time I'm ready to take my senior MIF test.  Let's forget about qualifying competitions.

Judging is my way of participating in the sport of figure skating at a higher level than my skating ability.  There are lots of other ways to do this, but honestly, the judges have the best seats in the house, so that's where I want to be.

To everyone at  the Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club, thanks for inviting me to judge today and congratulations on a well-run basic skills competition.

Mer11 at Ice Pact decided to make a Fantasy Figure Skating for NHK, so I thought I'd join her.

I don't follow international figure skating that much, so a lot of the names were unfamiliar to me.  A lot of my choices were just made because, "China has a strong pairs program," or "Gee, I don't want everyone on my team to be from the US". 

Ladies: 
Rachel Flatt - I love watching her skate
Caroline Zhang - I think her "pearl" layback is amazing
Jenna McCorkle

Men
Daisuke Takahashi - he's hot
Kevin Van Der Perren
Jeremy Ten - Mer11 chose Dennis Ten for her team.  Is it possible they are related? 

Pairs
Pang/Tong - Mer chose Caydee and her partner, so I thought I'd choose the Chinese.  And they are incredible skaters.
Brodeur/Matatall
Zhang/Wang

Ice Dancing
Davis/White - I have always loved Meryll's smile.  They are incredible to watch
Reed/Reed - representing Japan.  Really?  These guys are Japanese?
Coombes/Buckland

Gam

My grandmother, aka Gam, grew up in St. Louis.  She learned to ice skate on frozen ponds in the parks near her house.  It was something that she always loved.

When my mom went back to work, I spent my summer days at my grandparents.  I started bringing my roller skates so that I would have something to do in the afternoons.  After a summer of watching me roller skate (and beg to go ice skating), Gam decided that everyone needed to go ice skating at least once.  So, she took me to the Galleria one afternoon to skate.

By this time, she'd already broken a hip, so there was no question about her joining me on the ice.  She just sat on the bleachers and watched me trying to figure out how to make the transition from 4 wheels to a blade.  It wasn't long before I was off the boards, making my way around the rink in circles.   

I don't know exactly what happened between her and my mom that evening, but I suspect there was some arm-twisting because it wasn't long after this that I got to take my first ice skating class.  Since I couldn't get to the rink to practice more than once a week, I practiced my figure skating on roller skates in her driveway every day during the summer.

For my 9th birthday, she and my grandfather gave me tickets to the Ice Capades.   Dorothy Hamill was skating with them!  I was so looking forward to seeing her in person.  I was hoping that somehow, I could get backstage to meet her.  But, the day of the performance, I was coming down with one of the worst ear infections of my life.  I fought to stay as long as I could, but after seeing Dorothy skate a few times, I asked my grandparents to take me home.  I still remember overhearing them talking with my parents:  "We knew she had to be awfully sick when she asked to leave . . ." 

When I started skating again as an adult, I could literally hear the smile on her face from 1000 miles away.  She never got to see me skate, but it was a love we shared.  Unlike my mom, who shared my love of watching skating on TV, Gam loved being on the ice.  "I never did anything fancy, like you do, but it was always fun."

Then she'd add, "And it's good exercise, too."  (That's Gam for, "You know, you really need to lose weight.")

It's a sad time

Today I had to admit that I have to cut back on skating.  My husband is taking 3 teacher certification classes this fall, which doesn't leave him a lot of time for working.  My job pays the bills, but there's not much left over.  


This year has been full of change.  We moved from Phoenix to Houston.  I left a job I'd been at for 8 years.  I made a decision not to take another desk job and am working in retail until I figure out what I want to do next. 


During all of these changes, skating has been my anchor.  Even though the locations and faces changed, it's still skating.  I've been able to take the status change of going from Management Assistant to Retail Sales Associate because I've been so successful skating.   I told myself,  "It's OK.  This job lets you skate three times a week." 
 
I was blessed with being able to skate 3 times a week this spring and summer.  Now, I've got to remember that there will be other competitions, other test dates, and other Adult Nationals.  I don't have to do it all this year. 

I am trying to remind myself that it's temporary. Slowing down for a few months isn't the same as giving up. 

How good is perfect?

Xanboni wrote on her blog . . .

One of the most common whines I hear from students (and parents, truth be told) is "but I already know how to do that, can't we learn something new?" And the answer is, yes, you can learn to do this skill at a higher level, with fewer errors and more art.

 Maybe I haven't reached this level in my skating yet, but I can't imagine whining about improving any of my skills.  Yes, maybe I whine a little about the stuff I don't want to do (I wouldn't be thrilled if my coach asked me to drill my backward edges), but a chance to improve a skill is always a good thing.

One of the things I like about the testing system in USFSA is that  just because you pass a test doesn't mean you have mastered the skill.  In USFSA, tests are judged on a continuum. A preliminary skater is judged on the same scale as a senior.

This is so different than the schools, where a 1st grader can get an A the same as someone in high school.  An A means you've mastered the material for your level.  In USFSA tests, passing means you performed the skills at an acceptable level, not that you've mastered them. 

There's always room for growth in the USFSA test structure.  Just look at how many times skaters are tested on crossovers:  preliminary skates them in figure 8 patterns; pre-juvenile does them again in the forward and backward perimeter power stroking move; juvenile skaters preform them again in the power circles.  Each time you test, you should have improved your power and stroking technique.

Sit spins

"OK, let's see a sit spin," my coach told me this week.

The last time I attempted a sit spin was in a group lesson when I was 12.  I don't remember exactly what happened, but I do remember that it was one of the first times in my life that something didn't come easily for me. 

I watched enough skating on TV to know that sit -spins were essential to competition.  Dorothy Hamill did them.  So, if I couldn't do them . . . I didn't like to think what that might mean.  Rather than ask for help, I avoided them and never did another sit spin.

Until this week. 

Even 30 years later, I'm a still a proud woman.  Did I ask for help?  No, not really.  Instead, I tried to control the situation with lots of questions:  "Do you sit, then spin?  Or spin, then sit? . . .How much of a sit am I aiming for?"

"Thigh parallel to the ice."

Oh, crimety, I've got a LOT of work ahead of me.  For months now, I've been doing wall squats in a sit spin position to try and prepare for this.  Except, well, I got lazy a few weeks ago.  What if I've lost the strength I've been trying to build up in my legs? 

What if, no matter how much work I put into this, I can't do a sit spin?

Ice Network available for $39.95

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from US Figure Skating saying that Ice Network subscriptions are available for $39.95.  That's up $10 from last year.

Is it worth it?

Adult skating workouts off the rink

Anyone who has ever put on a pair of ice skates knows how physically demanding a sport it is.  In terms of calories burned, it's about the same as running.  Figure skaters have to be as flexible as ballerinas.  And of course, it requires a LOT of strength to pull your free leg up above your hip.  It goes without saying that skating takes a lot of practice.

My friend, Annie, was my personal trainer in Phoenix.  We would meet at the gym two or three times a week and she'd plan our workouts.  When I started to get chatty, she'd see right through it and make me start doing her signature "killer crunches".  In killer crunches, you lift a balance ball with your legs while bringing a medicine ball up over your head so the balls "kiss".  (Oww.)

In Houston, I've been on my own, so I've tried a lot of DVDs and read a lot of books.  My current favorite workout is Tony Horton's "Power 90" workout.  Skip the promises that if you do this for 90 days, you'll have a beach perfect body.   What I really like is that so many of the exercises translate directly into what I'm doing in my skating lessons.

• Touch your knee to opposite elbow:  this is essentially the same position you use for a back spin or loop jump
• Right-cross:  this boxing movement is pretty much the same torso and arm movement as spins.  Do this in your socks to get the whole spin movement down.
• Throw in 1/2 jumps (or full jumps if you can) to the cardio and kicking sections to practice your jumping skills.  

What do you do off-ice to improve your skating?

More adults give ice-skating a whirl for fitness | Active.com

More adults give ice-skating a whirl for fitness | Active.com

Bronze workout

Jana Kading, one of my coach friends in Phoenix, used to provide workouts for various levels of skaters on her website.  Her Pre-Bronze workout was the basis of my skating practice for a long time.

Now that I've passed my Pre-Bonze tests, I've modified it for Bronze MIF.  If I were to do the entire workout without stopping, it would probably take a little over an hour.  Since I do stop for water breaks (that's adult skater for "gasp for air") and to visit with other skaters, I takes closer to 1.5 hours.  No, I don't really have that kind of time, so I cut back on the number of repetitions or leave sections out (adult skater for "forget to do something")
 
Holly's Bronze Workout
Warm-up/Bronze MIF

• Forward and backward perimeter power stroking.  
• One full lap forward, end pattern per rulebook, one full lap backward
• Forward power 3 turns (2 laps)
• Alternating backward crossovers to backward outside edges (1 full lap)
• Forward circle 8 (x2)
• Five-step Mohawk sequence (1 lap)

Plus . . . 

• Alternating 3-turns:  1 hockey line each FO & FI 3-turns

Or, if that's not working very well, 

• Pre-bronze 3 turn pattern, since it uses all 4 forward 3's

Spins: 5x each

• 1-foot spin
• Scratch spin
• Backward outside edge on hockey circle with free leg in back-spin position
• Back spin
• Change-foot spin

Jumps:  5x ea

• Individual jumps
• Waltz (5 in a row, if possible)
• Salchow
• 1/2 flip
• Toe loop
• Combo jumps
• Waltz/toe-loop
• Salchow/toe-loop
• Toe-loop/toe-loop
• Jump sequence:  waltz-1/2 flip-Salchow-toe-loop

Footwork - 1 length of rink each

• Mohawk footwork
• Alternating crossovers/tap-toe

Program:  run through entire program at least once

Cool down:  2 laps (any pattern)

What's your workout?

One thing that has really bugged me since I took up skating again is how little guidance is available for adult skaters.  Obviously, you can't teach someone how to do a layback spin in a blog, so I'm not trying to take the place of your coach.

I can find tons of information and step-by-step instructions for all sorts of activities, like yoga or exercise for general weight loss.  Not so with figure skating.  I know of one ice dance instructional video, Learn to Ice Dance.  I've seen one video, Sk8Strong, that provides an off-ice workout.

So my first question:  have you used any of these resources, or anything similar?  If you have, please share!

My next question, what do you do for your workouts, both on- and off-ice.  I'll post some of my current workouts in separate posts.

Wasn't this rink bigger when I was 10?

Saturday morning, 1978.  My mom wakes me up, then comes back in 5 minutes later and wakes me up again, and again.  I finally get up, wolf down breakfast, and put on my skating outfit.  "Time waits for no one . . . " I tune out the weekly lecture about late as I lace up my skates in the car. 

"Yes, I know," I answer when she stops talking.  That's 10-year-old for "What's the big deal?  Isn't this why they make blade guards?" I jump out of the car as soon as she pulls into a parking spot and run through the mall, toss my blade guards on the boards, and skate out to my class just before the coach starts teaching. 

30 minutes later, it's over and now we have time to kill before the public session.  We have the usual debate:  Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, The French Bread Bakery, or McDonald's?  This week, it's special, so we go to Farrell's where I have a hamburger and a marshmallow sundae. 

The next argument is about whether or not we can ride the glass enclosed elevators that go to the top of the office complex.  Mom wins that one and instead, we go to the clock shop and try to decide which grandfather clock we would get if we could.  And of course, we can't pass B. Dalton Booksellers without stopping and getting the next book in the Little House series.

Finally, it's time to go back to the rink.  I have a private lesson with Harry, my coach.  He tries to carve a tiny piece of ice out of the center of the rink for me to practice my jumps and spins.  He wants me to jump BIG, so he puts his hands on my waist and spots me and gets exactly the result he wants.  "Now let's see you do it by yourself."  My waltz jump returns to a waltz hop.  So, he spots me again and gets the result he wants.  "Holly, I'm not doing anything to help you jump.  Why don't you jump like this when I'm not spotting you?"

"I dunno."  That's 10-year-old for, "Because it's a lot more fun this way and I think I'd really like to learn how to skate with a partner.  Can we please make that a goal, and talk about how I can get there, because I'm bored senseless doing the same old thing every week, and how on earth can I get a program so that I can compete?  I've got music picked out and I choreographed it in our living room." 

By the time my 30 minute private lesson is over, the rink is filled with people who don't know how to skate.  There is a little bit of space left in the center where some of the really good girls are practicing their jumps and spins, but I'm not as advanced as them, so I go cower in a corner of the rink and try squeeze in a few moves between the throngs of people stumbling around the ice.  Mom calls me over and tells me that if I'm just going to goof off, it's time to go home.

"OK."  That's 10-year-old for, "Hey, why don't you get out there and try to practice a sour cow with a little boy in shorts cutting you off every time you turn around?"  (FYI, "sour cow" is 10-year-old for Salchow.)

These are the memories flitting around my mind every time I step on the rink at the Galleria.  The shops have changed names, but it's really pretty much the same. 

Except, wasn't the rink a whole lot bigger when I was 10? 

"You're pretty good . . . for an adult"

After a year of skating, I decided that I needed to take a stroking class.  "Stroking" is skater lingo for "cardio".  Except in a cardio class, you don't usually have 10 pound ankle weights, aka ice skates, strapped to your feet.

Stroking classes are designed to help you skate faster and build endurance.  I was anxious to take one because I thought it would help my form, but mostly, I thought it would help me lose weight. 

The coaches decided to divide the class by age and/or skill level:  the elite skaters and teenagers were in one group.  The preschoolers and elementary school girls were in the other.  They placed me with the preschoolers.

Even with the preschoolers, I felt like I was struggling.  I was always the last person to finish a drill.  One day, Charis skated up to me and said, "Miss Holly, you need to skate fast."

"Charis, I'm skating . . . pant . . . as fast . . . wheeze . . . as I can." I tried to explain to her about target heart rates, and about how I was about to have a heart attack. 

"But, it doesn't do any good if you don't skate fast.  You need to skate faster." 

The coaches, normally incredibly sweet young women, turned into dominatrices . . . "Don't you stop . . . Holly, you can breathe while you do crossovers!"  No, no I can't because if I don't stop now, I'll die and I won't be breathing or doing crossovers.  But at least the pain will be gone.

One day, I was huffing and puffing my way down the first side of the rink when I noticed that Dyllan had just passed me on her second lap. In Phoenix, Dyllan was my day-to-day inspiration to skate.  At age 10, she was doing things on the ice that I had always dreamed of.  At age 12, she won the juvenile national championship. It was a privilege to share the ice with her.  It was a joy to watch her skate.

The next time I saw Dyllan in a practice session, I teased her about lapping me during class.  She flashed an embarrassed grin.  "You're pretty good . . . "  Wow, Dyllan was saying I was good!  " . . . for an adult." 

""For an adult'. . . what does that mean?"

"Well, we've had adults in the class before and they skate for about 15 minutes and quit.  But even though you took breaks, you finished the class."

Dyllan had just made me the proudest adult skater ever.

Adult Onset Skating Syndrome

This article is from the Recreational Figure Skating FAQ, by Karen Bryden with numerous contributions by others.

Adult-Onset Skating Syndrome (AOSS)

So you're 30-something or 40-something and have never skated, or
skated a bit as a kid. But the sight of the skaters on TV gets
something going in the pit of your stomach so you get some skates and
take a few lessons. Next thing you know you're hooked! Some of the
symptoms of this disease are:

1) You start dreaming about sit-spins and double jumps.

2) You find yourself practicing spread-eagles while waiting for the
bus.

3) The major factor in choosing an apartment/vacation destination is a
nearby rink. Corollary: You know the day/hour of every skating session
within 50 miles.

4) You start planning your work and family life around your skating
sessions. Corollary: Your dog fetches your skates on command.

5) You put off buying clothes to pay for more coaching. Corollary: The
clothes you DO buy are made of Lycra and sequins.

6) You break in your skates by wearing them at work and slip on the
way to the printer, suffering a black eye.

7) You forget to take work clothes to the rink and end up spending
your work day in your skating costume. None of your colleagues seems
surprised.

8) You hype your Alpha test so much at work that your co-workers think
it's a qualifying event for Nationals.

If you notice any of these symptoms in yourself, you are suffering
from AOSS my friend! Subscribe to rec.sport.skating.ice.recreational.
At least you will have the compassion of others who are dealing with
this problem, and you may find the solution for centering that darned
scratch spin!

Meeting Dorothy

I will never forget the day I met Dorothy Hamill.

When I came home from school one day when I was 6 years old, my mom excitedly made me sit down and watch this young girl in a red dress skating at the Olympics.  She spun and jumped.  She could do anything!  Best of all, she squinted too see her marks after she skated - she was near sighted, just like me!

Right then, I knew I wanted to be Dorothy Hamill when I grew up.

This was beginning of my love affair and obsession with figure skating. Mom and I bonded every winter over nationals, worlds, and, of course, over the Olympics every four years.  I even got to take figure skating lessons for a while.  But after a while, figure skating was put aside for other activities.  Even watching it on TV lost it's appeal once I moved away from home and couldn't watch it with Mom any more. 


One night in 2007, though, the magic came back.  I was home sick from work, tired but unable to fall asleep, so I wound up watching a reality show about figure skaters preparing for nationals.  An angel named Alyssa Czizny glided gracefully around the ice. "When you're on the ice, you're free,"  she said.

Memories flooded my mind . . . the cold air racing by my ears . . . feeling like I was flying when I jumped on the ice . . . Tears ran down my cheeks.  I woke my husband up, sobbing, and asked if I could take skating lessons.

It's been three years since I started skating again.  I took my my Adult Pre-Bronze Moves in the Field and Freeskate tests.  I've competed in two competitions.  I realized that I hated my job and quit, trading it to work at a retail store for half the pay and flexible hours while I decide what career path to pursue.

The other day, my mother-in-law asked me, "So what do you want to be when you grow up?"

The answer was simple:  "Dorothy Hamill."