With the Winter Olympics only one week away, it's time to consider the fact that watching all the fascinating sports will inspire you--or your kids--to try something new.
Back in the 70s, my sister and I wanted to skate just like Dorothy Hamill. (We won't talk about the haircut.) Our parents had neither the budget nor the inclination to secure us any 4-AM ice time or a celebrity skating coach, so our dad decided to do the next best thing.
He built us a skating rink right in our own backyard. Using only a bunch of scrap lumber and some heavy-duty plastic sheeting, Dad set up a rink near the back door. On cold days, we could head outside and skate to our hearts' content.
There was only one small problem. Our backyard was on a slight slope--so slight that normally you wouldn't even notice it. But when Dad dragged out the garden hose and filled up the rink, all the water ran toward one end of the frame. The ice was four inches thick on that side, but quite thin--and easy to crack--on the other. And with super-thin ice, there was that danger that our skates would tear the plastic tarps that kept the water inside the rink.
We managed to have a lot of fun skating that winter anyway, even though we never did realize our Olympic aspirations. But we got outside and enjoyed the physical activity--and the chance to dream. And our dad enjoyed the fact that his kids considered him the coolest dad in town.
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