Memory Lane: February 18, 2010

i've always been a bigger fan of the Winter Olympics than of the Summer games. i won't claim to watch them religiously, but they are my background noise of choice when they're in the tv lineup. as i've watched bits and pieces of the various figure skating competitions in Vancouver, it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood activities.

Gram had a fairly good-sized, relatively open kitchen. in the evening, once all the meals for the day had been cooked, consumed and cleaned up after, she would turn out the kitchen lights and retreat to the living room to put up her feet and watch her "programs."

as she relaxed on the couch by Gramp's side, on days that she scrubbed her floor, i would steal into the kitchen, where the freshly washed and waxed floor would gleam, shiny and tempting. there in the quiet, with the kitchen lit only from the glow of lamp light spilling over from the living room, i would glide silently in my socks, sliding over the floor with all the grace and ease (in my mind) of a figure skater. the linoleum became an ice rink. the counters were the edges of the rink where the crowd pressed close to watch my every twirl and leap. minutes would tick past with the faint click of the second hand on the kitchen clock and the whisper of my little stockinged feet circling around and criss-crossing back and forth through the kitchen, as i skated, lost in the scene as the music played in my imagination.

never mind that i've never put on ice skates in my life, nor have i wished to. i don't even delude myself with believing i wouldn't be carted away from that scene with a broken bone or several. but i look back at that six-year-old, kitchen skating contentedly, and i smile at her innocence, her imagination and all the memories that were spun in the hub of my grandparents' home. little boys played in the backyard with their wiffle bats and tennis balls, hitting homeruns to the cheers of invisible fans, but for me, the crowd roared wildly when i spun slowly to a stop and took a deep bow.