Preaching to the choir

I've been in a period of self-discovery for a while now.  Finding new friends, strengthening neglected friendships, trying new things.  I'm working on not saying no to things, especially things that might be out of my previous comfort zone.  I may not yet have figured out what I really want my life to look like, but at least I'm figuring out what people I want to surround myself with on the journey.

This past week has been draining and not in the mold of previous weeks that have been so filled with social outings, I barely spent waking time in my house.  Not because of anything that happened to me, but because of the suffering of a friend.  (And Snowmageddon 7, which kept me out of work for 2 days and made getting out of my alley an adventure.)  Watching someone you dearly love go through the worst thing she could possibly deal with is heart-breaking and exhausting and doesn't leave much room for martini night or dinner out.

These above factors combined last night to lead me to the roller derby.  My new friend wanted to go for her birthday party and I was looking for a light-hearted night out.  So I went to the roller derby.  And I think I've found my new calling.  Because I love roller skating.  Always have.  When I was a kid, I wore my Smurfette roller skates around the house all the time.  My best friend and I practiced our routines on my neighbors' perfect, flat driveway.  And I was fast.  I'm a pokey runner, but on skates, no one could keep up with me.  I took right back to roller skates when I was 19 and a camp counselor taking my kids to a skating rink.  Watching women skate around that track super fast reminded me of how much I loved it.  But they don't just skate, they knock each other down.  And I love the idea of knocking people down!  I may be small, but I'm feisty and uber-competitive.  I think I may just have exactly what it takes to rock at roller derby.

I'd better go buy myself a pair of skates (with or without Smurfette on them) so I can start working out before next season's try-outs.