I must have been about 5 or 6 years old when my mom and my aunt took my sister and I to Chicago to see the Ice Capades. I still remember it clearly. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I vividly recall being awestruck by the graceful skaters doing amazing turns, jumps and spins...all the while the lights glistened and sparkled and little beams bounced off their sequined costumes. These amazing skaters just basically showed their talents, but in a very spectacular way. I remember the wheel type formation where the ones in the middle would hardly move, but the ones on the ends of the "spokes" would have to skate like crazy to catch up! I remember the clowns, too, and the barrel jumpers. To say I was wowed would put it mildly. I got to take home a souvenir program and I would look at it over and over again and relive all the glitz and pageantry.
My girls were probably about the same age when my mom and I took them to Chicago, too, to see the spectacle. Jodi says she remembers it well.
So it was with great pleasure and excitement that I bought tickets to Disney on Ice when it came to Phillips Arena in Atlanta this past weekend. I had planned to take Jodi, Jess and Savannah. But Jessica had a weekend retreat with her Sunday School so Savannah got to take her friend, Reese. They had a wonderful time. This show still features the skills of many talented skaters, but the kids just mainly see characters they are familiar with...The Little Mermai
d, Tinker Bell, The Lion King and the Cars...but they are still fascinated. The girls were on the edges of their seats through most of the performance. The most fun for me was watching their faces as their beloved princesses, etc. glided across the ice with fantastic sets, music and lights. I think it's harder these days to impress kids because they are constantly stimulated from birth with bright colors and images and beautiful music...in movies, on the computer, and everywhere they turn. But the girls were "wowed" and that made my day.
d, Tinker Bell, The Lion King and the Cars...but they are still fascinated. The girls were on the edges of their seats through most of the performance. The most fun for me was watching their faces as their beloved princesses, etc. glided across the ice with fantastic sets, music and lights. I think it's harder these days to impress kids because they are constantly stimulated from birth with bright colors and images and beautiful music...in movies, on the computer, and everywhere they turn. But the girls were "wowed" and that made my day. 
Savannah tried ice skating last winter for the first time and she did it the way most 5-year-olds do it. Clumsily and with a lot of shuffling and falling down. I asked her if she was going to skate like Ariel when she gets on the ice this year. She said, "Oh, yes." And I smiled; because growing up in Illinois I did get to ice skate every winter. And even though I was always clumsy and inept, in my mind I was just like those stunning stars in the Ice Capades that I had seen so many years before.
2 comments:
I remember the Berry backyard skating rink--you had to be very good at turning and stopping! Remember skating at Marilla Park and at Starved Rock Marina? Good memories of simple times. We needed sequins!
Oh, my! Mom and Dad used to take us to the Ice Capades when they came to Ft. Wayne. It was always sometime between Maureen's birthday and mine, so mid-October. We were as mesmerized by it all as you were and all of us still love watching all the ice skating we can manage to see on TV. We also had our whirl on the blades, and while we had great fun, we just never quite mastered any of those amazing spins or jumps. Ahhhhh. The good old days. Jackie has it right--"Good memories of simple times." Certainly "simpler" times! What joy for you to be able to share and continue the tradition with your own girls and granddaughter. :-)
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