OK, so it's been a few months since I have put anything down, BUT not as long as it usually is, lol. Let me start out by saying that a whole lot of nothing has changed within my family, but I have had a major change. I am now a DERBY GIRL! I skate my butt off three times a week and have fun doing it! My sister has been trying to get me into derby for years. I kept laughing it off and not really paying any mind to what she looked at as a benefit to joining such a team. I thought you had to be fearless and reckless and just out of your mind to want to be involved in such a sport. I was SO wrong!
Derby is fun, hard work, team based AND it's for women! I mean, we have some guys in our league, but they are reffing and/or coaching. They are not out there skating with us. The women I am skating with are funny, sweet, endearing and have hearts so big that you feel like your in a great big hug while you are skating with them. I know it sounds ridiculous, considering that we basically knock each other around while skating, but it is all true. The encouragement and comaraderie that I have felt since I started skating with these women is unlike anything I have felt before.
Many people in my life view me as an outgoing person. I think this is residual from when I used to be a cheerleader. However, those who really know me, they know that I am truly akward around people I do not know and it is very difficult for me to small talk with a stranger. When I started skating with some of these girls, I thought for sure it would be business as usual and I would be the uncomfortable stilted new person. SO WRONG! These girls just get to you and they do it in a way that makes you feel valuable and interesting. They want to know you and they want to encourage you.
Now that I have been skating with these girls for a few months, I find myself doing the same with the newer girls coming in. I am able to walk up to a new face and jump into a real conversation. I talk with them, help them and form a bond with them. I have never been a part of something like this before.
I am so thankful to my sister for bringing derby into my life. Granted, I pooh, poohed her endlessly, but if it wasn't for her, I never would have thought I could join such a fantastic sport. I will forever be grateful to the 60+ women that show up to practice and become my favorite people for the 2-3 hours we are together. I feel like they filled an empty part of me.
I love my family, they truly are the reason I get up everyday. I have just added a few dozen more women to that family...
