Learning to Pond Skate

By Penny Lowe

Copyright 2012

Smashwords Edition

Learning to Pond Skate started from a story that came in a high school English class assignment. We had to come up with a child hood story and write about it. I could only come up with a paragraph then but am now able to build on what started then.

Rolanda is only 8 years old and she is the most adorable little 8 year old you could imagine. She has those Shirley Temple blonde curls all pulled under her winter hat, that perfectly matches her snowsuit. “Grammy, the pond is finally iced over: she says eagerly. With the pond being iced over, she can now learn to pond skate like all of her brothers, sisters and cousins. She asker her mom to help her. So they go back to the house. The house is colonial home with a dug out by hand basement. The basement is still not completed. There is a back porch that Rolanda’s father is sitting at talking to his parents. “Mommy, says that I can learn now.” Rolanda states sternly to her father and grandparents, trying to act more older than she is. “Well all be, our little Ray is gonna learn to pond skate” says her papa. “You’ll need these Ray, if ya gonna learn today.” he says her papa pulls out some new skates in her size.

As Rolanda sits down to tie the skates up her nana says she’ll have to wait a minute, while she runs in to get something. Rolanda is becoming impatient so she grabs her moms hand an they start to head toward the pond. They got half way when nana showed up. “Ray you’ll be needing these too dear., if you don‘t want your bottom to get sore.” Nana says to her as she hand her some pillows with a large belt. Rolanda started to giggle at the sight of her grandmother with two large pillows almost as big as she was.

They fastened the pillows to Rolanda‘s back and put the belt around her tiny little waist. It was a sight to see. Nana and Rolanda‘s mother had to hold her hands all the rest of the way down to the pond. Rolanda tried to act older than she was but it was quite hard to do, when she showed up to the pond

with a belt and pillows strapped to her and two people holding her hands to help her walk. Rolanda kept falling on the ice, but was happy that she had the pillows there, because it kept her from feeling sore. She practiced for about a half hour before she stopped falling, and told her mom she could do it on her own. She finally pulled her hands away from her moms and her nana‘s and went out on her own. Another hour past before they finally told her that she could take the pillows off. Rolanda was happy to have them gone and finally pond skate like her brothers, sisters, and her cousins.

When it was time to go back home, Rolanda hugged her grandmother and whispered “ Thank you for the belt nana, I think grandpa wants it back now.” as she points to her grandfather standing up on the porch holding his trousers up. .