The Ice Rink Dream

It was a cold snowy day in January, the water in the iceskating rink in Jan's back yard had turned into solid ice. She smiled to herself excited about getting her family together to ice skate. It was one of the many things on her bucket list. She had three children, two boys and a girl and two of her children had children which gave her three grandchildren, two girls and a boy. She loved. her son-in-law and daughter-in-law just as much as she loved her own kids. It was so wonderful to her to see how her kids had grown and into what type of people they had become. Now with her grandchildren she could see resemblances of her kids in them. They made her smile, each of them unique and special in their own way.

She couldn't wait to see the grandchildren's smiling faces as they skated in their warm winter coats around the rink, playing and lauging together. She loved ice skating as a young child on the lakes and ponds in the forest where she grew up, but there wern't many places out here with lakes or ponds to skate on so she decided to make her own, in her very own back yard.

It took time to build the rink. Months of planning, getting the wood, making the space, laying out the design, laying down the ground work, and just good old fashioned sweat equity to make this dream come true. Her companion had helped her build the rink and did a lot of the heavy lifting with construction of the rink. So when it was finally finished she couldn't wait to call her kids, tell them her plan and get them all over for a day of ice skating and fun!

Her daughter had married a man who played hockey so she knew he would enjoy the rink. She loved her son-in-law so much he was a really intelligent, loyal, caring man who loved and took care of her daughter. She really respected that about him and he had good taste in general (obviously, he married her daughter). He was a well rounded man and she really enjoyed talking to him and his company. She knew her daughter didn't ice skate, but her daughter tended to be nervous about things that she should overcome and if creating this ice rink would help facilitate her daughter overcoming a fear, it was worth it to her. They had a little girl and that girl was a curious, precocious, little thing. She was always getting into something, but she had already been put on a pair of hockey skates once at a rink in hopes of following in her father's footsteps.

Jan's eldest son had married a nice woman, who was very intelligent and assertive. She had a good head on her shoulders and really helped guide her son into being a responsible young man. She was proud of her son and the success he had built in his life to support his wife and children. They had two children a girl and a boy. Her son was always a risk taker and a daredevil, it was nice to see him calm down a bit so that she wouldn't have to worry about him so much. Their daughter was the oldest of all Jan's grandchildren. She had beautiful blonde hair like both her parents and green eyes like her mother. She was such a funny girl, she was always smiling and loved to read. She liked hanging out with family and she was one of Grandma Jan's special girls. She reminded her a bit of her daughter when she was a little girl and that made her smile. Their son was a spitting image of her son, blonde hair, brown mischevious eyes and an I'm not afraid of anything stance. He was her little buddy and she loved when the kids got together and played together.

When they all arrived, Jan smiled, her son and son-in-law both backed their cars up to the edge of the ice rink with no walls and set up some music for everyone to skate to. They took their time lacing up their skates and making sure the little ones were all protected with their snowpants and helmets. She had bought hockey pucks and sticks if the kids wanted to play a game of ice hockey, but ultimately today was about having fun together. Jan smiled as she hugged each and every one of her kids and grandchildren and encourgaged them in a loud voice to get on the ice and have fun. She was filled with joy and excitement when she asked everyone if they wanted hot cocoa. She was going to go inside and make it for everyone. This is what life was about for her making memories with her family. She would come up with new ideas and get so excited like a little kid and want to do it all.

She spent the day skating around with her kids, grandkids, and her companion enjoying the cold winter months and finding joy in creating memories. It was like something out of A White Christmas or a Thomas Kinkaid painting. This is what the holidays and life were all about to her. She smiled as she watched her dream come true.