Of Ice and Men

Watching people ice skating or probably any other skating makes me realise how difficult learning to walk must be for a baby.

Today at the skating rink I visited, there were adults who were trying to skate and kept falling down repeatedly. It was like they were trying to learn a new kind of motion. Holding the rails, trying to balance the body, bending the knees to lower the centre of gravity, all these are exactly the things a baby does. I wonder if the skaters realised that when they were doing those routines.

There were several peals of laughter when a particular middle aged man could not maintain his balance. He was all over the floor. The "ice guards" were helping him on to his feet.
My friends were exhausted by the time they came out of the rink, they were in there for two hours. Some of them were sweating and had a sore back from all the falls. All this from just trying to maintain a balance and walking, not from skating.

It must be quite a time for a child learning to walk, there must be a lot of determination to get up on those tiny feet and start walking in spite of all those falls.

One step at a time....