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The end of the Easter holidays
Apr. 9th, 2010 10:41 pmIt's been a busy day today. I promised Rowan I'd buy him some roller-skates for Easter, and today was the day we were going to go into town to get them.
Went to the skating shop in town to pick up a pair - not the ones Rowan was eyeing up, but he was happy with the ones the guy brought out for him to try on. Plus they were cheaper than the slightly fancier ones he'd originally wanted, so I was pleased. We then went to a sports supply shop to pick up some protective gear - good thing too, as they were on a special sale, and I got them for loads cheaper than I would normally. I was a little frustrated to see starter packs for almost half the price I paid for his skates - but they were for inline skates, rather than the regular roller boots I bought him, and I know he wouldn't be able to deal with them just now.
We jumped on the bus down to Cardiff Bay, so that he could try them out in the wide open space of Roald Dahl Plass. There were plenty of people about, but not so many that people got in our way much. Rowan did initially freak out, and after about twenty minutes I had to take him into a café in the Millennium Centre for a drink and a calm down. As I said to him, the reason I can't skate or ride a bike is that few people bothered to try and teach me, and those that did allowed me to quit when I freaked out - no way was I going to let that happen to him.
Anyway, after we'd both calmed down a bit, we headed back outside and worked our way around the Plass. We alternated between him gripping onto my hand or arm, or moving himself along the barriers of the main Basin. After an hour or so, he was sometimes shuffling along on his own power, with very very small movements. After we'd been at it for about three hours, I had him rolling along holding my hand, away from the barrier, and starting to make proper sweeping movements with his feet. Problem was that the path we were rolling along was a mix of large paving stones and rows of small cobblestones, and he didn't much like rolling over the cobblestones *rolls eyes* Guess I gotta work on that.
He doesn't think he did very well, but I'm pretty proud of the progress he made. He only fell over once (he counted three times, as I had trouble picking him up afterwards! *grins*) and he was moving with increasing confidence once he got over himself. We were laughing and joking most of the afternoon, and he's happy to try again sometime soon. \O/
We had chinese afterwards at the buffet in the Red Dragon Centre. Yummy, but I felt kinda sick afterwards :-p I seem to eat less each time I go, and yet I end up feeling like I've massively overindulged. Ah well!
Went to the skating shop in town to pick up a pair - not the ones Rowan was eyeing up, but he was happy with the ones the guy brought out for him to try on. Plus they were cheaper than the slightly fancier ones he'd originally wanted, so I was pleased. We then went to a sports supply shop to pick up some protective gear - good thing too, as they were on a special sale, and I got them for loads cheaper than I would normally. I was a little frustrated to see starter packs for almost half the price I paid for his skates - but they were for inline skates, rather than the regular roller boots I bought him, and I know he wouldn't be able to deal with them just now.
We jumped on the bus down to Cardiff Bay, so that he could try them out in the wide open space of Roald Dahl Plass. There were plenty of people about, but not so many that people got in our way much. Rowan did initially freak out, and after about twenty minutes I had to take him into a café in the Millennium Centre for a drink and a calm down. As I said to him, the reason I can't skate or ride a bike is that few people bothered to try and teach me, and those that did allowed me to quit when I freaked out - no way was I going to let that happen to him.
Anyway, after we'd both calmed down a bit, we headed back outside and worked our way around the Plass. We alternated between him gripping onto my hand or arm, or moving himself along the barriers of the main Basin. After an hour or so, he was sometimes shuffling along on his own power, with very very small movements. After we'd been at it for about three hours, I had him rolling along holding my hand, away from the barrier, and starting to make proper sweeping movements with his feet. Problem was that the path we were rolling along was a mix of large paving stones and rows of small cobblestones, and he didn't much like rolling over the cobblestones *rolls eyes* Guess I gotta work on that.
He doesn't think he did very well, but I'm pretty proud of the progress he made. He only fell over once (he counted three times, as I had trouble picking him up afterwards! *grins*) and he was moving with increasing confidence once he got over himself. We were laughing and joking most of the afternoon, and he's happy to try again sometime soon. \O/
We had chinese afterwards at the buffet in the Red Dragon Centre. Yummy, but I felt kinda sick afterwards :-p I seem to eat less each time I go, and yet I end up feeling like I've massively overindulged. Ah well!
