I acquired a teeny set of pink skates at the winter swap a couple of months back, thanks to a kind mama who brought them specifically for my girl, and kept them a surprise until just recently. When the lake really began to freeze, I brought them out and told Swee that when the lake was ready, we would go. The lake is ready, and today was the day.

A friend texted early to tell me that a kind neighbor had plowed the snow off of a section of the ice to make a skating rink, and would we like to join them today? I remarked to her that I am consistently blown away by what people do for the good of others around here, without expecting compensation, and yes – we would love to skate!

Promptly at noon, we were sitting on the shore lacing up Swee’s skates, and off we went, wobbling and sliding. She quickly moved from excited, to panicked, to balanced and happy, so I think we’ll be finding three more pairs so the rest of the family can skate with her.

We could have sat at home, glued to the tv in dismay. We skated instead, and it was lovely.