I would defy anyone to try and learn to skate on an old pair of hockey skates that were too big for your feet. Since that was all we had to wear, even though those were old second hand skates, we succeeded in learning to skate in them.     

            Just past the barn was a slough that froze over every winter, and made a perfect spot for skating, or rather to learn to skate. Off we went wobbling our way through the barn yard and out into the pasture to the wonderful frozen patch of ice that was waiting for us. Or rather, for my siblings.  With a few swipes of the shovels that we had brought with us, a fair size patch of ice was cleared off.

            I hated the skates I had to use, maybe that was why I couldn't seem to stand up in them, never mind skating a few feet. I had a terrible time trying to keep my balance.I did keep trying, year and year until one day, when my older sister and I went to skate in the ditch across the road. When a dry year happens and there has been no water in the slough that we usually skating in the ditch was just fine, there was lots of ice and I sat on the shoulder and contemplated the fact that I could not seem to get the idea of keeping my balance while I skated.

            While thinking that, and deciding that I was going to go home, because I couldn't skate, I got up on my feet and skated across the ditch to the road. It wasn't until I had got to the other side that I realized what I had done. It's funny how our minds work.

            That Christmas, I got a brand new pair of skates, not the figure skates I wanted, but skates. At first, I was disappointed, but in time, I understood that I could never have  used figure skates with the picks. Years later, I bought a pair of skates with the picks, well those picks got to me every time and I found myself lying on the ice wondering why I put myself through it. Live and Learn.