TrishOnSkates Blog

Today while I was doing my morning meditation I pulled the angel card: Gratitude and so began to write down all the things in my life that I am honestly grateful for… the list was getting long and then I began to think about all the people I need to say thank you to….

I am entirely grateful that Skate Journeys Skate School continues to exist.It is a miracle, no doubt about it. In 2009, when I announced I needed to shut the doors because I couldn’t financially continue to run it, an Angel came along and not only kept the door open, but turned it into a non-profit and it is now, well, thriving (and they kept me on as Director-bonus gratitude). First thanks to the Board of Directors over the past four years for your guidance and dedication–it has not been easy and you’ve done the hard word, so a huge debt of gratitude for what seems often like a very thank-less job.  Gratitude in big handfuls to the 46-ish instructors who all volunteer their time each week to teach the students. An extra ovation to the Junior Instructors who make time each week and add a dimension of hope for the future.  To the Staff who do all the work no one will ever see–you are the best of the best!  To the students who get out of their warm beds in the cold of the morning and come and skate with us so early in the morning.  I am in wonder at the  energy that is created each day at classes, the chatter, the laughter, the learning, the anticipation, the goal setting, the patience and the pure joy of seeing everyone skating around the rink. Imagine if it didn’t exist, what a poor life that would be.

My heart truly trills at lunch after the classes, it is my moment of quiet joy, sitting with the staff and friends who continue the community over coffee and a meal. For me the school is more than just a classroom and getting together with those who can make it afterwards, is a personal moment that fills me somewhere deep down.

The Skate Instructors Association which was given to me by Janet Miller six months after I turned over the Skate School to the Board of Directors, is an opportunity that I marvel at constantly. The chance to strive to be a leader in such a changed environment both allows me to do something that scares me everyday and to push my limits in creativity, support and care. Skate IA is a meaningful membership–it is important to the sport of skating and the members each have a wonderment of stories about learning in life, expanding the possibilities and they all do it for the passion they have. Skate IA is not mine, it is ours, and while the goals are daunting, the membership is so supportive that moving forward is a given. Skate IA allows us all to grow our passion, share our love and increase our knowledge and the possibilities of skating….. In the last decade a new type of skating has been created and a new sport (derby) has been launched or at least renewed. Skating on wheels is still current and expanding and I am gratefl to be a part of the exciting past, present and future of it all.

Skating on wheels is quirky, it is hard to make money doing it, so those of us who do teach or work in the industry have moved the sport forward because of the passion, so a moment, a pause for passion which leads us on a great adventure.

I am so grateful to have found skating. Not sure what made my Mom get me to my first lesson in 1972, but I am so thankful to her and for all the opportunities for joy what have occurred as a result.

Yes, I am grateful to be a skater.

[Because I can’t seem to share it enough, my favorite video on skating which shows the newness, the grace and the energy that continues in our sport:]    Jin Seong Yu