Winter sucks. It’s cold, gloomy skies cast a dark shadow on each passing day, and the windchill cuts like a knife—especially near the beloved lakefront of Lake Ontario. Typically, it’s a time to hibernate and indulge in indoor activities, but this year I’m taking a different approach to the winter months that drag on as slowly as watching paint dry.
And let’s be honest: being Portuguese doesn’t help. We’re not exactly accustomed to winter. Our bones were made for Atlantic breezes, not arctic blasts. Every snowfall feels like a personal attack, and anything colder than 15°C is already pushing it. But here we are.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to buy my first set of skates in over a decade and I’m endeavouring to get comfortable on the ice. It’s been so long, and I was never a great skater to begin with, but my goal this year is simply to learn how to stop on ice. Watching how hockey players or figure skaters glide with ease—spinning, twisting, turning, and returning to a forward motion seamlessly—is what inspired me to want to do the same.
I don’t anticipate becoming a great skater, but I just want to get better. And since buying these skates, over a few weeks now I’ve learned to slightly stop on my right side, I’m practising on my left, and I’m getting familiar with skating backwards. All that to say, it’s only been a couple of weeks of practising maybe 2–3 times a week, and I’ve already seen results.
By the time winter arrives in December, I hope to be quite comfortable on the ice, and I plan to continue this routine into the new year. Who knows—maybe by spring I’ll be much better than I ever expected. Regardless, it’s already been a lot of fun, and there’s lots more skating to do this winter, which should help the season pass much better than years past.
See below for a hilarious capture! Shout out Melinda for the footage!
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