After ten years of skating, the first four just recreationally, my 18 year old daughter is performing in her very last ice show today. She's skating with some of the best friends she made in synchro, at the request of her skating coach. She's off to MIT in the fall, and she'll continue to take ice dance lessons if she can fit them in, but this is it for the freestyle stuff.

It's been a wonderful 10 years. Icy has made friends from all over the place, mainly due to synchro, and those friends made her a much better person than she would have been without them. We have been honored to have gotten to know little skaters that have grown into internationally ranked skaters. We walk into rinks around the region and we see people we know, and it feels so wonderful.

She went to Synchro Nationals twice, skated with Kurt Browning, Sasha Cohen, passed her senior MITF this month, and brought the rest of us along for the joyous ride. We have been blessed!

So, if you see a woman dabbing at her eyes while a bunch of beautiful young women skate together for the last time, it will most likely be me. Feel free to hand me a tissue!

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blades, gary, Lucy, Emily, take care of Aiden and Sami. Sami is my sweetest heart, and always will be, forever. RIP Cubby Boy, my hero dog.

*hands Schmeck a tissue*

Congratulations - hope she skates beautifully today!

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Geez, I need a tissue now. Congratulations to you and your daughter. It sounds like you really got that "skating mom" thing right. I hope in 10 years I will be able to write a similar post.

me too
Hope she had a great skate today !

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http://www.youtube.com/user/alaskanmom

Me too!! DD has been skating for 2.5 years(approx) and I hope she is still skating when she is 18(she is 11 now). Not because I expect her to be a champion, but for all the reasons you stated. The friends, the experience and so on.

Congrats!

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven

Congrats on her and you making it that far! She's going to MIT in Boston in the fall, right? There has been talk of MIT doing a intercollegiate competition sometime next spring (I think... there are many factors going into that decision including if BU puts in a bid/gives help, ice time, etc.) and I know there are a few skaters at MIT. While it's not as intense, she could keep on skating at a more recreational level.

The show must of been a proud moment for you and maybe even a little bittersweet. Sounds like your DD has had an awesome skating career. My DD has been skating for 10 years, too, but she's got 3 more years before she graduates. I know I will be bringing a big box of tissues on that day.