3 Things I Do Well by Sarah Raplee McDermed

In planning this blog, I decided to talk about concrete things I am good at, rather than abstractions like ‘procrastinating’, or ‘arguing’. Abstractions do not always present my accomplishments in the best light.

So here goes:

     1.  I’m good at roller skating. Not Roller Derby good, but Above-average Good.

My path to roller skating accomplishment was not an easy one.

When I was a Brownie Scout in second grade, we took roller skating lessons at the local roller rink. We learned to stay upright, to start and stop, and later to turn around and skate backwards. In advanced class we learned how to do the limbo on roller skates, which was quite a feat in our uniform skirts.

Eight years later I was fifteen and in high school, but not old enough to drive. My best friend, Rhonda, and I would get one of our parents to drop us off at the roller rink to skate on Saturdays. We had fun wearing off our excess youthful energy and checking out our male peers. The rink was often packed with teens, pre-teens and families with small children, some of whom were, unfortunately, not well-supervised.

The day of The Accident was one of those Saturdays. Rhonda and I and everyone else was skating fast. A pack of five-to-seven-year-olds were who thought it was hilarious to pile up on purpose and block the lanes were causing problems. I managed to skate around one of their pile-ups once. The next time they piled up in front of me there wasn’t enough time to avoid them. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I remember thinking if I ran into them going this fast, I would hurt someone really bad. So I jumped, tucked my legs and prayed I wouldn’t hit someone in the head with my wheels. I remember looking down as I sailed over the kids and thinking, ‘Shit! If I land on my skates, I’ll fall over backwards and crack my head on the floor.’

So I landed on my knees and broke both of them—at least that’s how it felt. The pain was worse than when I broke my leg the summer before seventh grade. All I could do was lay on my side and moan.

Rhonda had seen the whole incident. She knew it was bad, so she found a cute young male employee and told him what had happened. He skated out and, when he realized I couldn’t walk, he picked me up and skated me off the floor, bless his heart. He sat me on a bench, got a couple ice packs for me, and let Rhonda use the phone to call my mother.

Later, our doctor told us I had damaged the bursa in my knees. I was left with bursitis in my knees—and a phobia of roller skating. It wasn’t until I was twenty-eight and my two kids begged me to let them learn to skate that I decided to face my fears. I enrolled in a college gym elective roller skating class. Wearing elbow and knee pads, with the instructor’s support and encouragement, I overcame my fears. By the end of the term, I was playing balloon soccer on roller skates.

That’s how I got Above-average Good at roller skating.

      2.) I’m good at putting babies to sleep. In fact, I’m a Master Sand Woman. This is a much shorter story, I promise! I worked for three years in an infant and toddler nursery. Enough said!!!

      3.) I’m good at brainstorming ideas.

Give me a problem, and I’ll run with it like a

For example, ‘In what scenario would Master Sand Woman and Above-Average Roller Skater skills be useful?’

-Writing a story about saving a baby from kidnappers.

-Reporting on Roller Derby Gals with infants.

-Landing a job as a nanny for a Roller Derby Team.

-Being a grandmother.

-Being a mother.

-Being an aunt.

-Being a teenaged babysitter.

-Escaping a home invasion with an infant.

You get the idea, right? It’s a great skill for a writer to have. A list of 25 is a gold mine. The first ten are usually yawners, but then things get interesting. Try it next time you are stuck.

You’re welcome ~ Sarah