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To celebrate the end of all our extracurricular activities and the start of Christmas break, I suggest that we all go ice skating on the Monday before Christmas.  All five of my kids instantly agree.  As do Emmie and Noel, who have spent all weekend with us.  Janna calls Lyric to invite him too. 

The kids pile into my van a few minutes later, and away we go.  Lyric beats us to the rink.  He’s waiting outside the front door.  Janna hurries to catch up with him before everyone else has even evacuated from my vehicle.  After paying the exorbitant fees for nine people to skate – of course, I treated Lyric too – I draw my little army towards the ice skate counter.  After everyone picks up the appropriate size, we head to the benches to put our skates on. 

I glance around.  It appears that everyone listened to me and wore a warm coat and gloves.  Some even donned a stocking cap.  I warned them that the rink would be chilly. 

“Abs, Alastair, you can hold onto the wall until you get the hang of ice skating, okay?” I inform them.  But, really, I’m confident that they’ll excel at this sport in no time.  They are both very good on roller skates.  And my three eldest children are all whizzes on rollerblades.  So I’m sure all my kids will be able to enjoy themselves today.  They may not suffer a single fall.

But as my eyes slide towards Lyric, I’m not so sure about him.  He’s just finished lacing up his skates, and as he stands up, he teeters sideways.  He catches himself at the last second, but he’s not even on the ice yet.  This should be the easy part.  I watch him a little nervously as he and Janna head for the ice.

He’s okay until his second foot slides across the ice.  And keeps on sliding.  A moment later, Lyric is lying flat on his back with Janna bending over him with concern written all over her face.  She reaches out to help him stand up, but two seconds later, she lands on top of him.  Apparently, giving him a hand up was not such a hot idea. 

Janna looks completely unconcerned though as she stares down into Lyric’s eyes.  She smiles suddenly.  He says something, and she begins to laugh.  I decide those two are going to be just fine.  I begin to escort the four younger boys out towards the ice, but I glance back at Kookie and Emmie momentarily.

Emmie is taking her time lacing up her skates.  Kookie is already done, but he seems to be waiting patiently for her.  I’m wondering if he’s going to offer her his hand.  But before I can find out, I’m distracted by a tiny voice at my elbow.

“Mommy, can I hold your hand?” Abs asks me.

I smile down at him.  “It might be a better idea to hold onto the wall, sweetheart.  It’s not on skates and can’t be pulled down onto the ice.”

“Can I hold your hand with one hand and the wall with my other hand?” he queries so very logically.

“Sure,” I grin at him, reassuring him.

I watch as Alastair braves the ice alone.  Before long, he’s venturing a teensy bit away from the wall.  He’s already got this.  A few more tentative movements, and he’s sailing slowly along, the wall within reaching distance still. 

I glance down at Abs.  “Ready to go?”

He grins up at me and bobs his head up and down.  “Yep!”

I look behind us and see Kookie and Emmie walking side by side towards us.  But they’re not holding hands.  They’re not touching in any way.  I return my gaze to the ice which now looms before us.

I step delicately out onto the ice.  I haven’t been ice skating since I broke my ankle two years ago, so this is definitely a test of my abilities.  But I discover that all the time I’ve spent roller skating has paid off.  Ice skating is still easy for me. 

Except that now I have to keep an eight-year-old from slipping.  But after several moments of carefully picking his way across the ice while clinging to both my hand on his left and the wall to his right, Abner gains enough courage to beam up at me.

“This is easy, Mommy.”  Still, he clings to my hand.

Just then, Emmie passes us.  I watch her teetering on her ice skates. Just when she is about to fall, Kookie comes up behind her and slips his arms around her, pulling her up against himself.  He steadies her and skates her towards the wall surrounding the rink.  Once they come to a safe stop, he lets go of her.  

Disappointed, she glances his way.  He holds his hand out to her as he says something to her.  I see her smile and reach out to take his hand.  They hold hands for the duration of their skate.  So sweet.

My eyes slide across the rink.  I watch in dismay as Lyric loses his footing again and crashes down onto his back once more.  And he pulls Janna down with him.  She insisted on holding his hand.  I’m wondering if she’s regretting doing so.

She tried valiantly to tug him upwards, but Lyric’s superior weight forced her down by his side.  He grimaces as he glances her way.  She stands up and reaches down to help him to his feet.  This time, he manages to find his footing without dragging her down on top of him.  Now I’m wondering if she’s disappointed.

But the smile on her face seems to indicate that she’s simply happy to be spending the afternoon with him.  After a few moments, they’re skating along again.  Lyric still appears quite unsteady on his feet, so Janna leads him towards the wall.  She encourages him to grab a hold of the wall if he feels like he’s slipping. 

As he teeters along for several moments, he begins to gain a little confidence when suddenly he loses his hold on the ice again.  But this time, he grabs for the wall and is able to steady himself before he can fall onto his back once more.  He continues to cling to her hand as they make their way around the rink.

I glance back down at my youngest child.  “How’s it going, Abs?”

His beautiful grin lights up his face.  “Good.  I like skating with you, Mommy.”

Aww.  Heart melted.  At least, the ice beneath my feet still seems solid.  Perhaps it’s impervious to the sweetness of my youngest child.  “I like skating with you too, sweetheart.”

After a few moments of difficulty initially, my whole crew seems to finally feel comfortable on the ice.  My eyes travel to Alastair, who is still skating several feet ahead of me and Abs.  Everett and Noel are a few yards ahead of him.  Kookie continues to hold Emmie’s hand.  They both seem to be skating with no trouble now.  She’s smiling up at him, and he’s grinning down at her.  Lyric is still tugging on Janna’s hand, but he’s making great progress one sliding step at a time.  It appears that we’re all going to have a good time today.  And no major injuries.