Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My own obsession

I think we’ve all heard how important it is to our well being to find an activity in our lives that we do for ourselves, something that we enjoy either independently or with friends, just as long as it takes us out of the role of caregiver to a special needs child once in awhile. That makes a lot of sense intellectually, but practically speaking it’s pretty difficult to put into practice. (Insert sarcastic comment and laughter here.)

I’ve been searching my mind and community for ideas of ways to find personal enjoyment and fulfillment, if even for just a short time each week or month and have come up dry. When you factor in the cost of joining classes or gyms with the cost of hiring a sitter to watch your child, not to mention the cost for the supplies or gear involved; it’s adds up really fast.  I think it’s hard for any family to rationalize extra costs for activities in times like these, but especially families like ours, and maybe yours. We face a continuous stream of mounting medical bills and insurance woes. We work ourselves into the ground just to stay afloat amidst all the bills. So if we’re looking for ways to make ourselves feel good, whole, nourished, fulfilled, well then they better be cheap.

I found my way a couple of weeks ago and have been obsessed ever since. Too bad it isn’t cheap, demands a huge time commitment, and could result in serious injury or I’d be doing it. I’m talking about the roller derby.

I grew up skating, my parents skated, my grandparents even met at the roller rink. I miss it and loved the sense of freedom and fun that it brought to my life as a kid.

And the aggression! I have never felt so aggressive in my life and have no way currently to deal with it. I’m not saying that I want to hit random strangers, but if I could actually score points and have fun on skates while simultaneously kicking some butt, that sounds like a slice of Heaven to me!

I’ve listed the pros and cons and gone over them in my mind for weeks. There is no way that I could participate in something like that and remain a responsible parent to a child who needs me the way mine does. It’s just not in the cards.

But I’m on my way to becoming the biggest groupie our home team has ever seen. 

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this! As a roller derby referee, it makes me really happy to know that even people who can't make it work to be on the track right now are finding the sport a goodness in their lives. If your league is anything like mine, they are always hungry for volunteers, and contributing to a bake sale, putting up flyers, writing up the bouts, or doing other projects they need help with is a great way to contribute, and often gets you into the bouts for free!

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  2. Thanks, Beth! That's great advice. I am dying to get back on skates, but what you're suggesting is a great way to get involved and I'll look into it!

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  3. I found a blogger here who has a special needs child and she does the roller derby! A true inspiration! I just want to clarify that my statement about being a responsible parent applies to my particular situation and was not meant to sound like a generalization in any way. My spouse doesn't live at home full time and we see him primarily just on weekends, which is just one factor that went into that statement I made. I am daring to dream...

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  4. I love this post! I grew up not ever learning to skate and recently have taken up roller skating. I am obsessed with roller derby. The best part of this new thing for me is that the rink I go to allows wheelchairs and my 8 1/2 year old is my best training partner. I know there will come a time when I will want to skate alone and maybe even on a team but for now I am letting her teach me!

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