My daughter recently started taking ice skating lessons. And it’s kind of changed my life.
Over the past seven years, my daughter has tried out a slew of activities. And while she liked ballet, swimming, soccer and other extracurriculars, she’s into skating on an entirely different level. As in, every Sunday morning she asks how many hours there are until lessons begin. The answer is always too many, and she monitors the clock until it’s time to get her gear packed up and head to the rink.
Out on the ice, she’s either grinning, furrowed with concentration or laughing when she inevitably slips and falls. She’s working hard, learning and always eager to return.
As a mother, it’s amazing to see her take to something so passionately. And it’s prompting me to take stock of the things I sign myself up for. How many elements in my day light me up the way skating does for her? And how many tasks are taking up time and space that could be devoted to something absolutely joy-inducing?
Whether it’s during the busyness of holidays or as we start thinking about a new year ahead, it’s worth it to evaluate how we spend our time — and how we might make room for what makes us the happiest. Because we all deserve to have things in our life that we look forward to all day, that we enjoy with a childlike enthusiasm in the moment and that fuel us with happiness in the hours away.
Whether my daughter sticks with skating for the long run, or switches gears to a new activity, I hope she remembers what it felt like to find something that spoke to her. And I hope she holds out for that joy in whatever she does next.