Margaret(Marla) On the night before she turned eighty-three, Margaret lay in bed, considering what she should do for herself for her birthday. She knew that a party was planned, but it was scheduled for 3:00, so she had plenty of time to do whatever she pleased for most of the day.

Go to the cat cafe? No, that was relaxing. She wanted something more exciting. Skydiving? No, that didn’t even sound fun. Roller Skating? Yes, roller skating. And now that the idea was in her head, she found herself liking it very much. So what if she was eighty-three? She was in great shape - she could still manage the stairs in her house, and she walked laps at the YMCA every day. Yes, she’d go skating. And with that very satisfying resolution, she fell into a deep, contented sleep.

The next morning at precisely 10:00, she arrived at the roller-skating rink. The young girl behind the counter asked if she was waiting for someone, assuming that the elderly woman was there to watch her grandkids skate. “Oh, no, dear. I’m here to skate.” She laughed at the young girl’s surprised expression and said, “Just give me a size six,” as she handed the girl a bank card.

“Umm, okay. But we make everyone sign a waiver. Here it is.” She presented a sheet of paper that claimed that the company wasn’t responsible for any injury. Margaret signed it promptly. She didn’t care about the risks. She was determined to have fun.

She sat on one of the benches and put on the skates, making sure the laces were secure. She stood very carefully and held onto the wall that surrounded the rink. Slowly, inch by inch, she made her way to the entrance of the arena. Nobody else was there; she’d have the entire rink to herself. She was about to step onto the rink when she heard, “Ma’am!” She turned to see a man who appeared to be in his thirties. “I’m afraid we can’t let you skate. It’s too risky.”

“Too risky? I signed the waiver. Whatever happens, you’re okay.”

“I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Please take off the skates.”

“I’m eighty-three years old. It’s my birthday. Please don’t spoil it. This is all I want to do.”

The man drew a deep breath. “May I at least go with you? You can hold my arms.”

Margaret gave him a long look. “Oh, all right.”

He smiled and stepped inside the arena. He held out his arms. She grasped his forearms, and together they moved slowly across the floor, he walked backwards, and she made small movements to glide forward. “Wow, you’re doing great.”

Margaret resisted rolling her eyes. “Thank you.” She let him help her for another thirty seconds or so. Then she said, “Okay, thanks. I’m fine.”

His face showed his surprise. “I…really think I should stay.” he stuttered.

She let go of his arms. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Then to his utter amazement, she smoothly glided past him. She skated gracefully, looking much younger than her years. From behind, she was a small, trim form. One might have thought she was a child, but the white hair told the truth. All of the employees watched in amazement as she rounded the rink. A few pulled out their phones to record the astonishing sight. She didn’t skate long - she had wanted only to do it for the sake of doing it. There was no need to tire herself out. She kept it slow, but did a few things to have more fun, gave a few little spins, skated backwards a bit, but nothing too difficult.

As she finished, the astonished employees applauded, and she gave a smile and nod to acknowledge the praise, before returning to the bench to remove the skates. She put her shoes on, returned the skates, and left.

At the party later that day, one of her great-grandkids was staring at his phone. He showed one of the cousins what he had found on YouTube. “Hey, check it out, some old lady went skating.”

They watched the video. Then they watched it again, just to be certain. After just minutes, there was no small excitement in the small gathering of family as the video was passed around and shared. Margaret looked up from her slice of cake and saw that everyone seemed very distracted by whatever they were watching. “What?” she asked. “What is it?”

Her daughter held out her phone for Margaret to see. “I guess you didn’t spend the morning resting, Mom?” she asked.

“Oh, that. Well, I didn’t know that they were recording. Pity. I would have done something worth watching. Maybe next year.”

Her family, stunned, didn't know what to say. Margaret just laughed.

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