Revised memory

     This is always a wonderfully funny story to recall when my sister and I get together to reminisce on old times.  We would get bored very easily as children.  Trying new things to do was a norm for us.  One of these things to do was one-legged skating.

      My parents managed to get us two pairs of roller skates we had to share. We didn’t have enough money to get a pair for all four of us kids.  One of these pairs were green speed skates for my brother, and the other was a pink set for the girls.  Usually we would take turns skating around in the basement, seeing who could go the fastest and who could do the coolest tricks.  One of us would skate all the way across the floor and turn back without falling.  Sometimes we would jump over the cracks that were in the concrete.  One day my sister and I decided to do something different.  We both wanted to skate at the same time, so we thought we could both wear one skate.  My sister and I were both in dance classes, and we thought it might also be fun to make our own dance routine. I was happy.  My sister and I had a very normal sibling rivalry, so it was nice when we got along.  This could be very fun.

     "Here Sandy, I'll give you the left skate since you are left handed.  You might skate better on that foot," said Amanda.

     "You're probably right.  I will start from that corner and we can meet in the middle and spin," I told my sister.  Our plan seemed foolproof.  Now we just had to agree on the dance.  She was in jazz and tap, while I was in ballet.  They are two very different dance genres, so it was nonetheless interesting.

     We decided that the song should be 'Sugar, Sugar' by The Archies.  We both knew parts of it, and we had to sing it because we didn’t have it on tape.  We both put on our skates and stood at opposite ends of the basement.  

I started singing, "Sugar, do do do do do do, oh, honey honey," as my sister and I rolled across towards each other.  

"You are my candy girl, and you got me wanting you," sang my sister as we tried to manage twists and turns on one leg.  

“Sandy watch out! Hang on to me!” yelled my sister.

“No! You hang on to me, I’m going to fall!” I yelled back.

     The first attempt wasn't so great--we both landed flat on our behinds.  I guess it wasn't as foolproof as we thought. My coordination was a little off with her jazzy moves, but at least I was pretty good at balancing myself.  Maybe we needed a little more practice skating on one leg before trying to add tricks to it.  We tried again and again until finally we were able to balance and do at least a small turn without taking each other out. All the while, the same two lines seemed to repeat themselves as we only knew those two lines.  

     While we weren't talented singers, dancing was always so much fun.  It was one of those things we could do together and not be at each others' throats.  We would laugh so much that we would only wish the next time would be as amusing.  Since then, my sister and I always  tried to do things together that were fun and allowed us to be silly.    It is a wonderful childhood memory I have with my best friend, who just happens to be my sister.