I hurt all over

It's impossible to be depressed while roller skating. It can't be done. One must concentrate on the feet, and mostly moving each one in the same direction as its mate. One must also concentrate on one's arms, and not flailing them about. Most importantly, one must concentrate fully on staying in an upright position.

I haven't really been on roller skates in twenty years, not counting a brief experiment in personal humiliation in my late teens when Colin and I decided to take up in-line skating. I'm not so good when the wheels are all lined up in a row, but give me two side-by-side, and I'm not bad.

It took me about an hour to re-learn how to roller skate. I could accelerate, and turn the corner, slow down, and even stop properly. Once I got my confidence back, I promptly fell down. Then I tried backwards skating, and fell down again. I have a large and painful bruise forming on my left hip and I managed to hurt my wrist catching myself, but I had a great time.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to skate. I was able to lose myself in the very act of roller skating in an almost meditative state where nothing else gets in. I wasn't scared about my future, stressed about work, frustrated with my life, or depressed about my past. I was roller skating, and my mind didn't have room for anything else.

Today I hurt right down to my toes, but I can't wait to go again. It is really good physical exercise, and there's nothing so humbling as taking skating instruction from a small child.