Moi j'aime la patinage artistique

Thought I'd hit you with some français this morning. Like it?

Remember the 6 things you didn't know about me a while back? Well I forgot to mention something. Actually this would have made it 7 and I'd have had to change the title and stuff but there you go.

Here's the thing. Back when I was little, I used to figure skate. Not for fun but competitively. You heard. The costumes, the music, the choreography, the whole nine. Of course I was only about 7 but still. I was a card carrying member of le Club De Patinage Artistique De St. Laurent.

We had to wear uniforms for lessons. White sweater, navy skort, white headband, navy blue gloves, beige tights and of course, my gorgeous, shiny, white, figure skates. We all wore gold sashes across our chests that our parents had to sew triangle shaped badges onto. The badges were to show that we completed a level. Stopping, forward and backward skating, crosscuts (front and back), figure eights, jumps and, spins, camels and jumps were all badges we could get. My sash was pretty full.

I got pretty far along in the years I was there. I made it all the way up to the badge with the skate with wings on it. That was the one for jumps. I could do a single salchow, a waltz jump and a single toe loop. Youtube them if you're not much of a skate fan. I'll wait....

Pretty impressive, eh? But that was then. When we moved from St. Laurent to St. Hubert and I started at the new club, I told my parents I hated it there and wanted to quit. My parents quickly agreed. A little too quickly, I think. I'll bet the club fees were crippling them financially and they were looking for any excuse.

I wish I had kept it up. Althought I still love to skate, I'm crap at it. As with anything you have to practice. And doing something whiningly and grudgingly twice a year while freezing off every extremity I own does not a happy figure skater make. Remember, my lessons were in a relatively warm arena. Yes, I was spoiled but darn it all, I can still do a waltz jump. After I get feeling back in my toes.

kxx