Back in Business

It's been a spotty return to skateboarding for Sk8terdude, but this time the obstacles have not involved trips to the orthopedist.

Just days after returning from camp, Sk8terdude woke up one morning to the news that our local skatepark was closed due to an overnight fire.  The shack had burned to the ground and the vending machines melted but the ramps, etc. seemed perfectly fine.  Nonetheless, the town decided the skatepark would be temporarily closed.

Three weeks ago they reopened (hooray)...and then last week they were temporarily halved by yellow caution tape as workers arrived to build a quarter-bowl in the back corner of the park.  Yesterday we pulled into the parking lot only to be told the park would remain closed for at least one extra day to let the concrete cure (apparently they also resurfaced several ramps).

Sk8terdude was itching to skate but rejected my offer to head to Dickinson Park in Newtown ("It's too small!"), instead begging to be allowed to skate some street spots for the first time ever.  I admit to being torn.  While I don't really want to encourage him to skate where he isn't supposed to (for example, at one of the local schools), I didn't want to put up with his complaining all afternoon if he didn't get to skate.

So I caved.

I know....bad Mommy.  Allowing him to break the rules AND standing by while he did it (I read a book in the car while he skated) isn't exactly sending the right message.  But I was encouraged by the fact that no fewer than eight other skaters and roller bladers showed up while we were there.  Apparently we all had the same idea, convening at the nearest easily skateable public venue.

Is it terrible of me to admit that it was fun to watch?  This was Sk8terdude's first time figuring out, for himself, what was skateable and what wasn't (yes to olleying the stair set, the curb, and the low retaining wall - no to the handrail on the ramp).  And when he landed the stair set he ran back to the car, grabbed the video camera, and took some footage of himself doing it again.

He came home happy and exhausted - a winning combination - even if it was a slightly illegal one.

LOL - From now on I suppose we'll be adding a dollar a day to his legal fund instead of the proverbial "therapy jar."

Fear of Flying (no, not THAT one)

I'm on a plane to California.

[And the fact that I can sit on an airplane and type something and hit a button and suddenly all the wired-world can read it is something too amazing to contemplate - but that's a topic for another post.]

Sitting in the airport waiting to board, I realized that although I'm looking forward to this trip, I wasn't really looking forward to the plane ride. And that realization surprised me, because for years I travelled as often as I could. I loved the anticipation, the take-off, the opportunity (when weather and flight plans permitted) to look out the window and identify landmarks (including once, on a trip back from Richmond, my parents' street and rooftop!).

But today I was a little unsettled, as I have been every time I've boarded a plane for the last ten or more years.

I know part of my discomfort comes from 24/7 coverage (on tv and/or online) of airplane disasters. And part comes with the territory of being a parent ("what will happen to the children if..."). But I also wonder if part of this fear just comes naturally with age.

When I was younger my brother and I often went skiing with our dad. I clearly remember my brother racing down a black diamond trail without me - although we were skiing at about the same level at that point in time (not quite ready for an expert trail, I might add). And I remember thinking that it was because he was too young to know to be scared. (If memory serves...and it might not...he was no more than 7 years old at the time.)

As a child, I believe I thought growing up would mean being less afraid.  And I suppose in some ways I am less afraid of some things.  I still occasionally get butterflies in my stomach before making a presentation, for example, but I am able to draw on years of experience, take a deep breath, and settle those butterflies by remembering that the worst that will happen is I’ll make a fool of myself – and I’m too old to care about that anymore!  And growing older and becoming a parent cured me of my fear of spiders (well…maybe not cured…but at least made me pretend I wasn’t scared so I wouldn’t pass along that fear to my kids).  And I’m less afraid to try new things – at least as long as those things don’t involve my fear of heights!  (I will NEVER go bungee jumping.)

But I’m definitely more afraid of things like falling down (it HURTS to fall down at my age!), getting sick (who’s going to handle the kids’ schedules?), and, of course, flying, which is not so much a fear as jitters (read: a panic) about what would happen to the kids if something happened to me, which is all about parenting, which really is very scary…

If you’re still reading, you must be wondering what this has to do with skateboarding since, after all, this is supposed to be a skateboarding blog or, at least, a blog about being the parent of a skateboarder.  And that’s exactly where I circle back to being afraid.

I wonder if skateboarding becomes more difficult with age – not just because some skills are more easily learned by the young – but because of fear.

When he started at age 5 or so, Sk8terdude had no fear.  In fact, as a parent it was a little worrisome to watch him try bigger and bigger ramps and skate faster and faster without seeming to have a care in the world.  But he’s older now, and a little wiser about things like gravity, and it’s a lot further to the ground than it was when he was younger.

When does this start to become part of the equation for skaters or for athletes in other extreme sports?  For example, if you don’t try the megaramp before you reach a certain age, are you destined to avoid it your entire life?

Is there a point at which skateboarders stop trying to learn new tricks and just celebrate a successful session (i.e. one without injury)?  Is this the ultimate obstacle - the one that skaters need to conquer in order to be great?  Is it that they don’t ever feel the fear, or that they learn to ignore it?  As a parent, how do I teach my child not to let the fear keep him from pursuing his dreams?

I watch Sk8terdude launch himself off the ramp and up into the air over and over and over again and I can’t help but wonder whether there will come a day when he’s afraid to let himself fly.

A Jinx or a Career Opportunity?

Earlier this week I received a comment on the blog from Chris at AquaCast, the company that is marketing a waterproof cast material to replace the now-discontinued Gore Pro-Cel.  On Tuesday, as I was driving Sk8terdude to camp, Chris posted a response to my reply.

Sk8terdude read the comment aloud from my iPhone:

Hopefully you won't need any casts soon and/or exhaust your supply of Gore Procel. However, I would like to send you a few rolls of AquaCast to see what you think. We can do all the testing in the world, but what really matters is the opinion of the patients and families who have the practical and extreme experience with water proof casts.

My immediate reaction was twofold - first, I wondered if it would be tempting fate to accept free casting material (although the fact that I pre-ordered the case of Pro-cel before they stopped selling it probably already jinxed us) and, second, I wondered how I could form an opinion about the casting material without actually having Sk8terdude break another bone.

But before I could say anything, Sk8terdude piped up with his own opinion.

"Mom, I have a great idea," an enthusiastic Sk8terdude exclaimed.  "I could ask Aquacast to sponsor me!"

Ah....sponsorship:  the elusive goal of all young skaters everywhere!

For those of you not in the know, many skate-related companies offer sponsorships to young skaters.  In exchange for free product (wheels, trucks, decks, shoes, even grip tape), skaters are supposed to promote the brands wherever they go.  Some companies send branded tee-shirts, stickers, and promotional material for their sponsored skaters to distribute.  Others just bargain that younger skaters will want to copy the sponsored skaters by buying the same products, etc.

I have to admit that my wallet loves the concept of Sk8terdude getting sponsored.  And I have often joked that our orthopedist's office ought to sponsor him (after all, we're practically building a college fund for the orthopedist's kids at the rate we're seeing him).

But I'm not sure how Sk8terdude thinks a sponsorship from a waterproof cast company would work...  Would he go from skatepark to skatepark, hoping someone would get hurt so he could whip out an ad for AquaCast and say something about the value of waterproof casts during recovery?  Would AquaCast design a line of skateboards advertising their products - complete with images of xrays?

Or maybe AquaCast could create a sponsorship group for all sports:  one skateboarder, one BMX biker, one lacrosse player, etc.  They could have an ad campaign with each of the athletes saying something like, "I work hard for my sport - but when I'm sidelined with an injury, I want a casting material that will work hard for me... AquaCast lets me continue my active lifestyle even while I'm recuperating."  Picture the person with cast doing some type of exercise to work a different muscle group than whatever is broken, followed by person drying off while getting out of the shower.  The voiceover says something about how sweat and showers don't ruin the cast, etc.

It's a funny image.  Or maybe it's really smart.  If skateboarding doesn't pan out for Sk8terdude, maybe he has a future career in advertising...  For now he just needs to enjoy summer camp - and not break anything while he's there!

Casting Off

If you were paying careful attention, you might have noticed that Sk8terdude's most recent broken pinky (on his right hand) occurred one year to the day after his first broken pinky (on his left hand) during our otherwise-wonderful trip to Kona Skatepark last year.

This time, however, the orthopedist decided to sideline Sk8terdude for the duration of the cast, which made no sense to my very concrete child.  ("But he let me skate LAST YEAR...and it's exactly the same type of cast only this broken pinky isn't as bad as last time.  It's not FAIR!)

Well, it may not have been "fair" but it was the right choice.  To his credit, Sk8terdude tried advocating for himself, calling the orthopedist's office and asking for a return phone call from the doctor so he could discuss the decision, asking questions, and - more or less - accepting the response, eventually.  Many thanks to Dr. C for taking the time to phone, to have the conversation (with me, first, and then, with my permission, directly with Sk8terdude).  But, of course, Dr. C didn't have to live in our house for the weeks of no physical activity, which left us with one very cranky, bored, inventive child looking for ways to circumvent the restrictions.

Thankfully, we all survived.  The cast came off at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon and Sk8terdude made it to S.P.I.R.I.T. in time to make up one of his missed lessons later that day.

This morning the skies were overcast and the ground was wet, so we packed up and headed out to Peekskill for a day at Second Nature, where Sk8terdude is skating AND collecting on his belated (by a week) birthday present:  a new skateboard, trucks, wheels, etc.  The old set up will go to camp as his back-up board.  With seven weeks at sleepaway camp this summer, he's bound to need it sooner or later (hopefully later).

Happy Birthday, Sk8terdude!

Time Warp Tuesday

It's Time Warp Tuesday - a Bereaved and Blessed blog-hop in which writers are asked to revisit a previous post and reflect on the journey they've taken since then.  Today's topic is "mothering" and, by chance, exactly one year ago today I wrote a post about my (un)official title as the "Best Mom in the Whole World" - a title I may or may not still hold depending on which of my children you speak to in any given moment in time.

Certainly, from Sk8terdude's perspective, I've done a pretty decent job in the Sk8termom category.  We've been on several skateboarding road trips since last May, including the biggie to SkatePark of Tampa in February.  We went to the Streetleague championship last August (despite the last-minute change of date due to the impending hurricane!).  I've spent countless hours sitting in parent lounges, videotaping, editing, and posting to this blog and, for the most part, I've done it with a fairly good attitude, considering the fact that in a million years I never would have anticipated being the mom of a skateboarder.

But we've also had some not-so-great moments this year, including Sk8terdude's latest trip to the orthopedist yesterday afternoon for what turns out to be yet another broken bone...in the pinky of his right hand.

Don't ask me how many bones he's already broken, because I've truly lost count.  (For those of you considering letting your kids skateboard, the non-skateboarding injuries still outnumber the skateboarding ones, but not by much...).  So after years of people cracking jokes about bubble-wrapping him for safety, I'm starting to wonder:  am I being the best mom by continuing to support his love of skateboarding?  Or would I really earn the "best mom" title by putting my foot down and forcing him to give up his passion?

With Mother's Day in plain sight, and with a look back at the last 12 months, I have to wonder what's really in his best interest long-term.

It was downright embarrassing to show up at the orthopedist's office yesterday.  And I haven't called either set of grandparents to tell them because, honestly, I don't want to hear their reactions.  (I won't be able to hide for long.  My in-laws will be arriving in two weeks for a short visit - and Sk8terdude will still have a purple cast.  My guess is they will notice!)

In preparation for a workshop I'll be running in June, I recently asked a group of parents to tell me what keeps them up at night.  One mom said she worried that she would be "blinded by love and not see something right in front of [her] eyes that would prevent the expected outcome of raising happy, confident, compassionate, and wise children."

Now I'm not sleeping at night, either...but maybe that up-all-night-worrying is the essence of motherhood.

Sundays in the (Skate)Park with Sk8terdude

It's Sunday, so I'm back at Second Nature in Peekskill, where Sk8terdude and a small but active group of boys are ignoring the incredibly beautiful weather outside so they can work on some new tricks inside.

And they're not the only ones tackling some new tricks.  (I'll do my best to avoid the old dogs reference here!)

I sat down with the owner for a quick chat.  Yesterday he set up shop at the Tarrytown, New York Healthy Kids Day.  They ran free mini-skate lessons for kids of all ages, handed out information about the skate shop, and encouraged kids to sign up for summer camp at the skatepark (registration is now open).  Sounds like everyone left with a smile...

In the process, we touched on some marketing ideas for the skatepark and some of his plans for the future.  On his wish list:  replacing the upstairs half-pipe with a bowl (that's on Sk8terdude's wishlist, too), getting involved with The A.Skate Foundation, (their mission:  Autism. Skating with Kids through Acceptance, Therapy, and Education), ordering 2ntr-branded tote bags to sell and/or use as gift bags for camps, parties, etc., and providing additional opportunities for homeschool groups (one group already meets here on Friday mornings).

But before they get to the wish list, there are some actual events to oversee, including the upcoming art show opening, Friday, May 11th, at 7:30 p.m.  A sequel to the recent Megadeck 2 show which ran at the Paramount Center for the Arts in February, the show will feature more than 20 local artists celebrating the skateboard deck.  Stay tuned for details...

The skatepark at Second Nature is rolling up to its first anniversary (June 10th).  As the day-to-day details of running the skatepark become, well, second nature, it's great to see these guys expand their horizons, looking for ways to give back to the community while continuing to grow their business.

Now if they would only build me a private parent lounge!!!  (Just kidding...sort of.)

Estrogen in the House

After a fun morning with Sk8tergrandma (first visiting The Raptor Trust, then doing a skateboard-related art project), we arrived at GardenSk8 at the appointed hour (according to the website, they opened at 3 p.m. today), only to find the lights off and nobody home.

Well, technically, there was a guy servicing the vending machines and another guy (friend of the owner) skating inside, but we were told there was no one working and they weren't sure if the place would be open today because it was the owner's son's birthday.  Hey, as a mom, I totally get the importance of birthday celebrations.  But would it have been so difficult to post a note on the website if they weren't planning to open?

Fortunately for us, the skater called one of the guys who works here and we were told they would be open shortly and Sk8terdude could go ahead and start skating, which he did.

So I set myself up in the ubiquitous parent lounge (warmer than last December but not as warm as yesterday!), turned on my computer, and then, before I could really get started, in walked C & J, two adorable girls, long hair flowing out from under their helmets.

I've written before about barriers to entry for girls who want to skateboard, so I was interested to hear what the girls, both sixth graders, had to say.  I assumed that most girls who skate start out with older brothers who skate.  To my surprise, C & J told me that their initial interest in skateboarding came from the Naked Brothers Band and, specifically, Alex Wolff, who skateboarded on (and, presumably, off) the show!

So around age six C was given a small skateboard and a mini-ramp from Toys'R'Us for Christmas.  She tried to skate on her own.  Last year a google search turned up the fact that GardenSk8 was located less than 30 minutes from their hometown.  C took some lessons, convinced J to tag along, and a passion for the sport was ignited.

Both girls are familiar with Girls Riders Organization and attended their event here at GardenSk8 last summer.  They also attended the Streetleague finals in New Jersey last summer.  But neither girl was able to name any women pro-skaters.  C said that for vert she likes Andy Macdonald and Bob Burnquist and for street she likes Paul Rodriguez and Ryan Scheckler.

Beyond skateboarding, the girls say they've both played soccer and basketball, they participate in gymnastics, and they've both taken dance.  And they both agree that C is a bit more of a "tomboy" than J.  They were delightful, articulate, and happy to talk about their lives as skateboarders.  [When I said I wouldn't/couldn't put their names or faces on the blog without their parents' permission, they asked me if I would still be here when C's mom picks them up so I could ask.]

Happily, both girls report that they've never been hassled about being skateboarders and that the boys have always been nice and accepting of them.  I hope that their passion for skateboarding won't be squelched as they move into those teen years, when being different becomes more difficult for so many.  And both girls acknowledged that it would be great to have women role models to follow... who knows, if they keep skating, maybe someday in the future younger girls will be talking about the two of them as role models!

In the meantime, I was just happy to see a little estrogen in the house.

Many thanks to Sk8terdude for willingly giving up the "spotlight" for this post!

Sk8terdude Skates...Clip Reel

Sk8terdude decided we needed an updated clip reel from recent (and not so recent) skate trips, so here it is.  Enjoy!

Long Island Mini Road Trip

When you think about your favorite St. Patrick's Day memory, what's the first thing that pops into your mind?  Corned beef and cabbage?  A parade?  Beer?  From now on, Sk8terdude's favorite holiday memory will be the glorious weather and the fabulous fun we enjoyed last Saturday at Veterans Park in East Northport*, New York.

[*Personally, I thought the park was in Huntington, Long Island.  My sister-in-law patiently tried to explain the New York system wherein villages and hamlets exist within towns within counties, some with independent school districts, tax districts, and/or governing bodies and some without.  She did a great job with her explanation.  I just didn't do a great job with my comprehension.  So it's beyond me to explain it here.  Suffice to say that we were in Huntington, but we were also in East Northport.  And probably plugging either name into a GPS will get you to the skatepark.]

Designed by California Skateparks (click link for photos), this 18,000+ square foot concrete park, the first on Long Island, is a dream.  It combines a bowl, a flow course, and a street plaza and is open to the public for a daily fee or by purchasing a town recreation pass (details).  No bikes - or children under 6 - allowed.

There's no parent lounge - and certainly no public, free wifi (edited to add: rumor has it there may be wifi access for those with a Cablevision account) - but there is an adjacent playground with comfortable benches, a water fountain, a shaded area, and public restrooms.  Since we were accompanied by my 3-year-old nephew, the playground was a perfect spot for us to spend time while Sk8terdude skated.

Considering the unseasonably warm weather, I was surprised there weren't more skaters.  The park was steadily busy but not impossibly so, and it was an interesting mix of local kids, older (as in adult) skaters (wisely wearing knee pads!), and, amusingly, an entire vanload of skaters from right here in Fairfield County who had taken their own mini-road trip to skate the park.

At the end of the afternoon, Sk8terdude put his skateboard and helmet in the car and then rolled down the big grassy hill with the 3-year-old...who tells us he's "not tall enough" to skate.  (Not yet, anyway!)  A perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

Spring is Sprung...Skateboarding Season Opens in Connecticut!

It's official.

The skatepark in Ridgefield is open for the season.  Skating is free for the weekend.  Sign-ups for lessons have begun.

Sk8terdude is in 7th heaven.

And - hey - there are new benches and picnic tables in the "parent lounge."  That makes me happy, too.

SkatePark of Tampa - Day 2

Another day, another dollar - spent in Tampa, that is...

Since the skatepark STILL isn't open before noon (don't they read this blog????  lol), we started our morning at the Florida Aquarium.  They open at 9:30 a.m., so we arrived at the parking lot at 9:20, ready to park and walk over to the building, only to learn that even the parking lot doesn't open before 9:30!  (Really?  Yes, really.)

Several shark sightings later

we were on our way to the skatepark, with a quick stop for lunch at The Bricks, the SPoT-owned cafe/bar in Ybor City (check out the awesome pressed-tin ceiling if you go).

Delicious lunch, despite the near-death experience (okay, not their fault I have a fatal allergy and, fortunately, I asked to see the ingredients in the whole grain bread before I actually bit into my sandwich).  Sk8terdude enjoyed the hummus, pita, and veggies and took a PB&J to go in case he got hungry this afternoon.  I loved my "Elvis" sandwich (after they switched things up and gave it to me on bread I could eat without dying):  peanut butter, banana, honey, and bacon.  Yeah, it sounds awful.  But that Elvis sure knew what he was doing!

The owners of SPoT and The Bricks, ought to do a better job (IMHO) of cross-promotion.  Since they don't have any food at SPoT, except when the snack shop is open for special events and not counting the vending machine, why not post a Bricks menu at SPoT, and hire a "runner" to bring food over from the cafe for hungry skaters.  Believe me, I would gladly have paid a small delivery fee to get something healthy to eat yesterday afternoon.  Or, if that seems like too much trouble, print up a small map with a coupon ($2 off any entree?) and hand them out to skaters who ask about food options nearby.  Yesterday I heard someone ask about food and the guy working the register at SPoT sent him around the corner to 50th Street to find something.  Really?  It's called marketing, people!  Sending skaters to competing restaurants makes no sense to me!

But I digress...

It's Wednesday, which means BMX-day at SPoT.  Mid-afternoon a handful of teenage boys have arrived with their bikes (as usual, there are no girls to be seen).  While they work the street course in the beginner room (the one I can see from the picnic table), Sk8terdude is working the half-pipe just outside.  He's determined to drop in from the top....14 feet!...before the day is over, alhtough it looks to me like he's not quite there.  Yesterday one of the guys here told him he needs to be able to get himself as high as the Red Bull logo before he can try dropping in.

He's just about there, and if we were staying in Tampa a few more days I think he would make it, but I'm not sorry we're heading home tomorrow.  I don't think my stomach could take it!

SkatePark of Tampa - Day 1

We flew into Tampa last night.  Although it's been a relatively mild winter at home, we were delighted to walk out of the terminal into a glorious evening:  sun setting over the gulf (no, we couldn't see it, just knew it was out there somewhere to the west) and clear skies at a balmy 63°F or so.  With the hotel directions set in the phone app, we picked up our economy car ("Mom, it's so small!) and headed onto the highway.  One wrong hotel later (phone app sent us to the right chain in the wrong location), we arrived, checked in, and headed back out for a fabulous Thai dinner at a local restaurant.  Sk8terdude was begging to head to SPoT to start skating, but I reminded him that he was still on restricted activities and he would just have to wait one more day...

This morning he was up bright and early and eager to get a start.  Unfortunately for him, SPoT opens at noon during the week except during school vacations and, although it is our school vacation time, Florida operates on a different schedule.

So we took a side trip to the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach where we saw manatees.  Or, should I say we saw PARTS of manatees.  A flipper here, a tail there, an occasional snout or back cresting above the water...at no point was it possible to see a manatee in its entirety.  But that's okay.  We had a great time, enjoyed an hour or so in incredibly beautiful weather, and then turned back north to find our way to SPoT.

With five minutes to spare before they opened, we were here.

And precisely at noon, the magic door opened wide.  After one signed waiver and a swipe of the credit card, Sk8terdude was skating and I was settled, not so happily, in the parent lounge - by which I mean at the picnic table:

Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly lovely picnic table.  It's in the shade.  It's near a working outlet.  It's conveniently located next to the vending machine.  The free wifi is working.  And from the table I have views of one part of the skatepark

and (looking outside) part of the giant half-pipe.

And now that they've turned down the music (at my request), I can almost hear myself think.  Almost.  But with that big garage door open to the outside, it's a little toasty in here - even with the giant fans that add to the cacophony...

It could be worse.  It could be snowing.

Well-founded Worry

Last week I talked about Sk8terdude and his friend and my concern that their typical boy banter would turn into trouble at the skatepark.  Turns out my concern was well-founded (although, admittedly, this could have happened even if he had been skating on his own).

Sk8terdude was working on the wall ride at Second Nature when the wall "rode him" instead of the other way around.  Thankfully he was - as always - wearing a helmet.  But even with the helmet, he came home with a mild concussion, and our plan to head to SkatePark of Tampa next week was in serious jeopardy.

The good news is that yesterday we were given clearance (by the doctor) to go to Tampa.

Look out Florida...here we come!

Double the Trouble and Double the Fun at 2nd Nature

This morning Sk8terdude and I picked up one of his friends and we took the drive - the long drive - back to 2nd Nature in Peekskill, reminding me why we need an indoor skatepark closer to home!  It's 31°F and snow flurries are blowing on this blustery day, so I am thankful for somewhere warm to sit while they skate, but, SERIOUSLY, the distance is really getting to me.

I was glad to have Sk8terbuddy along for the ride.  The boys are the same age and share a similar obsession with skateboarding, skateboarders, and skateboarding videos.  They are equally determined to get sponsored (the ultimate prize for tween skateboarders everywhere) and their discussion in the car was amusing in its own mind-numbing way:

Sk8terdude:  "Hey, did you see skater x do trick y at skatepark z?"

Sk8terbuddy:  "Yeah!  That was sick.  Did you see skater a do trick b and skatepark c?"

Sk8terdude:  "Yeah!  That was cool."

Sk8terbuddy:  "How much longer until we're there?"

This was repeated - ad nauseum - for most of the ride.  But at one point the boys started talking about their own tricks, and I must admit I started paying a little more attention.  What began as a fairly benign cataloguing of their recent accomplishments (hey, I landed the wall-ride - me, too) slowly started to sound like the competitive one-upmanship that frequently occurs between any two boys (can you backside/tailslide the quarter-pipe? - yeah, can you?) and quickly that deteriorated into the type of challenge (you should try this - yeah, you should try that) that, in my experience, often leads to someone getting hurt...and that someone is, more often than not, MY someone.

I tried to step in with some motherly advice.

"Boys, you know, today isn't a competition.  The idea is to go have fun together at the skatepark.  You're each going to learn different tricks at different times, and that's fine.  You don't have to try something just because someone else says so...and you don't have to try anything you're not ready to do."

The disdainful silent response from the back seat was palpable.

So here we are, at 2nd Nature, again.  I'm typing in the parent lounge.  The boys are skating in the park.  I'm afraid to look!

Tampa Countdown

We are counting down the days to our next skateboarding road trip.  In just a little more than one month Sk8terdude and I will fly to Florida for a few days at SkatePark of Tampa (SPoT).

I've started my end of the research (hotels, car rental, other things to do, and the nearest Starbucks).

Since SPoT doesn't open before noon during our visit, I'm hoping for a few non-skating activities, too.

Florida Aquarium, Big Cat Rescue, and the manatee viewing platform at the power plant all sound like fun.  Any Tampa readers out there with advice?

Taking Care of Customers (and their parents) should be Second Nature

Saturday is skate day for Sk8terdude, at least whenever possible.  Today we are back at 2nd Nature which is now our "local" indoor skatepark, thanks to the demise of both Vertigo and Haven Skateparks in Connecticut.

By "local" I mean a delightful 50 minute drive if there's no traffic - not exactly a convenient "drop and go" location for me - so once I again I am hunkered down in the parent lounge.  I'm thankful for the small things they offer....like heat!  A big improvement over my recent sojourn to New Jersey, which I blogged about last week.

In addition to the heat (admittedly, it's close to 60 degrees outside - a rare January experience indeed - so maybe the heat isn't that critical), they also had the good sense to take care of parents with this lovely little setup:  a microwave, a keurig, and a selection of herbal teas and coffee.

Now if these guys managed to get it together long enough to think about the comfort and convenience of the parents (and maybe even the employees?), could it be that difficult for other skateparks to do the same?

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  It's good business to take care of the parents who drive the kids to the park and pay for the sessions (and the merchandise).  Seriously.

I'm So Blue (as in COLD...not sad!)

If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that it's been several months, one hurricane, and one freak October snowstorm since I last posted on this blog.

There are several reasons for my absence.

First, the Streetleague Skateboarding competition was AWESOME!  So awesome, in fact, that I had tons I wanted to say about it and a gazillion photos to post.  But Hurricane Irene arrived and our power went out (along with most of the Northeast), and by the time our power was restored, I couldn't recreate the post I had been planning.  Then, after an unexpected one week delay, school began, and suddenly I was too busy (and too tired) to write.  And one thing led to another, and I fell out of the habit, and suddenly this blog was in serious need of updating...

And then Sk8terdude took a tumble on the last run of a beautiful blue sky morning at Jennings Beach and suddenly we were out of skating for a few weeks while he nursed a broken thumb...and before he could fully recover from the thumb, he fell going UP the stairs at our house...and broke a toe...and he broke it in such a way that he couldn't put weight on it, which meant yet another cast, and crutches, and by the time we were done (last week), he had been out of skating for three entire months.

So I haven't had much to say...until today.

It's holiday time and school is out of session and I promised Sk8terdude he could get back into the parks with some serious board time.  But with Vertigo and Haven both out of business, Connecticut in the cold weather is not exactly a skater's paradise.  So Sk8terdad took him over to 2nd Nature the other day for a few hours and then I packed up and made the trip to New Jersey for two days of indoor skating.  (Why New Jersey?  Free lodging courtesy of Sk8tergrandma!)

Yesterday I spent 3 1/2 hours at Shields Skatepark in Flemington, New Jersey.  With approximately 18,000 square feet of space, the park was a great place for an extended session - for Sk8terdude.  For me, not so much.

The "parent lounge" (and I use the term VERY loosely) consisted of a few tables and some metal folding chairs just outside the fence that keeps the skaters separated from the skateshop, hallway, bathrooms, etc.  Since the space isn't separated, it's maintained at the same temperature as the rest of the park which, yesterday, was just barely above 50 degrees fahrenheit.

If you've never spent a few hours sitting on a cold metal chair in that temperature, without a coat, hat, or gloves, well, I don't recommend you try it.  Even the mom who DID have a hat and gloves left to drive over to Wal-Mart (conveniently around the corner) so she could buy warmer socks.  For the first time in my life, I truly understood the phrase "catch a chill."

It took HOURS for me to thaw.  Seriously.  And that was after riding in a car for 45 minutes with the heat cranked all the way up to 75 and the heat seater on high and several more hours in the house with the heat at a normal temperature and at least an hour in bed under two blankets and a comforter.

And just when I thought I had finally defrosted, we arrived - today - at our second destination:  GardenSk8.

This is our second trip to GardenSk8, but our first since they expanded, adding a second section which Sk8terdude assures me is "sick!"  Last time we were here it was during a horrible ice storm, but we took refuge up the road, visiting Sk8tercousins who live nearby.  Today I thought I would just unpack the laptop, settle into the sofa, and get some work done.

Yeah, right.

Because once again I am freezing my you-know-what off...

My nose is running, I can no longer feel my toes (and I am wearing a thick pair of socks), and in between sentences I have to put on a pair of gloves and wait until my fingers are warm enough to keep typing.

I asked the guy (owner? manager?? dude hanging out in the office???) - only sort of joking - if they didn't have a space heater or something they could rent out to the frozen parents suffering on the sofas.  And he seriously thought I was out of my mind.

Okay, I understand that they can't afford to heat the entire warehouse to a comfortable temperature for sitting around and, even if they could, it would be too warm for the sweaty skaters.

But here's what I don't understand.  In order to survive, all skateparks have to hope that new generations of kids learn to skate.  And until those kids are old enough to drive, the skateparks have to depend on parents willing to drive them.  And for those of us who need to wait while our kids are skating (either because we live too far away or because our kids are too young to be dropped off and left on their own), we would appreciate just a little consideration!

I'd be much more likely to stay longer, visit more often, and spend more money at a park that at least pretended to care about my comfort.  A simple space heater would do the trick (and at this rate I might invest in my own and bring it with me in the future)...even a blanket would be nice....

Is it too much to ask?

Skateboarding Shutdown

Okay, technically, skateboarding has not been shut down. But in the aftermath of Hurrican Irene, we have no power, no water, and no easy Internet access. I'm preserving I-phone usage for important texts and updates on local conditions (like the welcome news that the nearest Starbucks re-opened this morning). Once power is fully restored I will post photos and an update from our trip to see the Streetleague finals in New Jersey.

Stupid Is as Stupid Does!

I was enjoying my last few days of kid-free summer.  No worries.  No hanging out in parent lounges.  Sk8terdad and I stopped at the mall and he ran inside to pick something up.  Knowing he would be right out (the item he needed was in the first store inside the door), I waited in the car, thinking I could relax for a few minutes.

Suddenly I heard a loud rumble and some shouts - and I saw this:

It's dumb stunts like this that give skateboarders a bad reputation.  Seriously.  This video (with apologies for the quality, but there's only so much you can do in a parking garage) was taken in the middle of a very busy afternoon at the local mall.

These two idiots raced down all the levels of the garage, over and over.  (I shot the video the second time they rolled by.)  The turns are tight and blind for drivers.  And I would point out that they aren't even wearing helmets but, really, a helmet won't matter much when they get hit by a car.

Where is mall security???  And what were these two drinking when they decided this was a good idea?

Yes, I called security.

I hope Sk8terdude is never dumb enough to try something like this but, if he is, I hope there's a mom (or someone) in the parking lot who cares enough to take action.

Sometimes it's not enough to "lounge."

Get a Grip

Sk8terdude's latest board is starting to chip at the tail, and since he's heading to sleepaway camp for the next month, I figured he might need a replacement board.  But the cost of new boards is getting prohibitive, so I finally went ahead and ordered a bunch of blank decks online in order to save some money.

The decks (buy five, get one free) arrived today.  We ordered medium concave 7-ply Canadian maple American-made boards.  I don't know how to tell if these are really 7-ply or Canadian or made in the USA, but I guess I'll take their word for it.

At first glance, Sk8terdude seemed to like the feel of the board and the cut.  He thinks he will get a lot of "pop" with the medium concave.

Of course, wearing socks and olleying on the carpet might not be the best test...

Although the decks can be ordered with grip tape, we decided we would wait and have them gripped once they arrived.  For those of you unfamiliar with skateboarding, the grip tape is the sandpaper-like surface that is added to the deck so that skaters' feet don't slip when they are skating.

At some point, every skater needs to learn to put his/her own grip tape on a board, but since the process includes using a razor to cut the excess tape off the sides, I haven't been anxious to let Sk8terdude do it himself.  (We are already experts at broken bones....I don't really want to add stitches to our repertoire - particularly when he's supposed to leave for camp in a few days.)

But at some point every skating parent needs to let go.  So despite my concern, and with a nod to Free Range Parenting, I decided it was time to give it a try.  And since it was already late in the day, we drove to the nearest skate shop.  New Canaan/Ridgefield Ski and Sport recently moved their Ridgefield store to the former Rugged Bear building on Route 7.  I purchased the grip tape and asked if they would supervise Sk8terdude while he put the grip tape on the board.

We purchased Jessup grip tape, which is sold in individual strips.  After peeling away the backing to expose the adhesive, Sk8terdude positioned the tape onto the deck.  He came close to needing a do-over...as you can see in this photo, the tape is positioned all the way up against one edge.  (Usually people center the deck under the tape.)  Fortunately, he got the tape just far enough that it was okay.

He smoothed down the tape, releasing all the air bubbles, and proceeded to the next step:  running the shaft of a screwdriver all the way around the edge of the board in order to crease the grip tape where it would need to be trimmed.

This process was harder than it sounds. Sk8terdude needed to apply a lot of pressure on the screwdriver to get the crease and to break through the grip tape.  Once that was done, it was time for the cutting.  Now I have to say that in all the times I've seen this done, every person in every skate shop has used a razor blade.  Free range or not, a razor blade sounded like a bad idea to me.  So out of my bag I pulled the box cutter.  [What?  Doesn't everyone carry a box cutter???  Okay.  I admit I brought the box cutter with me, figuring that it would be safer for him to use - since it has a handle - than a regular razor blade.]  Ken (the guy who was helping us at the shop) showed Sk8terdude how to hold down the board with one hand and slice through the grip tape with the other.  There were two women working in the shop.  Clearly both moms themselves, they said out loud what I was shouting in my head:  "CUT AWAY FROM YOUR BODY!"  Apparently, that isn't so easy when cutting grip tape, and since Ken is lefthanded and Sk8terdude is righthanded, the demonstration was a little complicated, too!

They worked together:



And then Sk8terdude finished on his own:

No blood...no stitches...  I'd call that a success!

Is he too young for a box cutter???  I'm still not certain.  I did end the day with a stern reminder that despite his success, he still does NOT have my permission to use the box cutter without adult supervision.