THE QUICKIE CHECK-IN . . .

(I'm doing this in a rush on Sunday before church so that my small cabal of loyal readers won't scold me again for not blogging. It's so funny when they accost me and ask desperately, "What are you DOING?! WRITE!" It's like I'm a big bad drug ... and you all need a Blog-Readers Anonymous 12-step program! Muhahahahahaha!)

Do you ever hurt so much for a friend that your heart aches and your stomach clenches? What do you do in that situation? You can't help, nothing you say will make your friend feel better, and no matter which way you objectively look at the situation, you just can't see a happy way out of it. It's awful. It's awful to be you, but imagining how much more awful it is for you friend just makes everything ... more awful.

***

Sometimes, there's nothing cheerier in the world than being totally and completely and fantastically entertained. That was me last night.

NHF had an ice-skating event at the local ice rink. Now the only times I ice-skated were twice in junior high school and once about a month ago. All three times, I skated utterly against my will. The worst part was, it wasn't like mountain biking or road biking or snow-boarding. Those sports, I spent days suffering from intense agita, only to find that not only were they not that bad, but they were fun things to do. The fact that I was SO UNSKILLED made it even funnier and more worthwhile, because I enjoyed those activities and knew that I'd probably be willing to give them more chances until I became proficient. Ice skating is different. I HATE ICE SKATING. There is NOTHING good about ice skating. You fall down, you hurt. If you fall the wrong way and people behind you don't notice, they'll skate over your fingers and slice the tips off. (Before you laugh, note that Wonger knows someone who suffered this fate.) It's cold. There's nothing to hold onto. And of course, there are silly little children whizzing by you at all manner of madcap speed, slamming each other up against the wall to which you are preciously trying to cling.

So I didn't skate yesterday. But it was worth watching because all my friends who were on the ice turned into such humongous HAMS, and I'm not talking deli meat. JC, Soy and Jwu turned ballet tricks for us spectators ... synchronized, I might add. C and JWu tried to do a couples' dance move for us, with C pulling JWu through his legs. Never mind that C is about 5'8" and JWu is 6' tall, if not more. (Hey, I never said my friends were overly bright.) Everyone tried to tackle PEK to make him hit the ice, but I think underlying guilt about ambushing the new pastor made people nice. L'il Christie and Daniel kind of ice-walked (which, incidentally, is what I do, but I stick my butt out more for balance, totally ignoring the fact that I have a lower center of gravity and shouldn't have to do that). Junior was a wild-man, racing all over the place even while barely and precariously staying upright. And of course, everyone had to come and slam themselves up against the Plexiglass behind which we were standing and make funny kissy faces. It was SO SO SO FUN.

So, my apologies for being an ice wimp, but thank you all for being better than television for an evening!

***

I went biking again yesterday. It was a perfect, beautiful day and it was a great deal of fun, but note to self: when climbing a hill, don't look up. Just go. Don't think. Just go. Oh, and don't forget to breathe.