Once upon a time there was a boy who got a Toys R Us gift card for his sixth birthday. Somehow or another, the idea came that he should buy a set of roller blades with the gift card. The boy's mom looked on the Toys R Us website and found the perfect set that got decent reviews. They headed off to the brick and mortar store in hopes to find the exact pair they saw online.
As they looked in the roller blade aisle, the pair they saw on the website was nowhere to be found. The anxious and impatient boy found another pair that would barely fit him and insisted that he didn't want to wait for the pair that would fit him better to come in the mail from the website, but would rather buy the ones in the store. The mom gave in and allowed the boy to buy the pair in the store, knowing they would only fit properly for about 5 minutes before he grew out of them.
Once the boy got home, he squeezed his big feet into his new skates and
set off. It became apparent to the skating boy's big brother that he
was not a good skater and that he needed some coaching. The big brother began
to show the skating boy what he believed to be the proper technique and stance the skating boy should have.
The littlest brother was carefully watching this scene unfold and taking it all in.
After seeing the struggle the skating boy was going through,
the big brother decided that bringing out a clip board and making a
series of random check marks
and scores on the clip board, while barking coaching statements, would improve
the performance of the skating boy.
The big brother continued his critiques and coaching as he officially marked important
information on his clip board about the skating boy's performance.
It is not known if the clip board was the catalyst for the skating boy's improvement. But, the fact remains that he started doing better once the clip board was involved. And after a couple laps on the sidewalk, the big brother decided
that the skating lesson was over and it was time to honor the skating boy with a 1st place skating award.
What a priceless reward for all of his hard work!!
After seeing the success that his coaching brought about in the skating boy, the big
brother decided he would have a go at squeezing his too large feet into
the skates to see how well HE would do.
He quickly discovered that all of the coaching he barked at the skating boy
did not translate well into his own, practical skating experience
As the big brother fell over and over again, the skating boy brought out the clipboard
in hopes that it might improve the big brother's skill and performance.
In the end, the big brother came to a full understanding of the phrase, "Easier said than done." And the only way he felt even halfway safe with the skates on was to push a stroller with the littlest (and protesting) brother riding inside. Defeated, the big brother gave up quickly thereafter.
Epilogue:
The big brother's Nana graciously bought him a pair of roller blades a few weeks after this incident that fit well and rolled more smoothly than the skating boy's. While they are still novices, both the big brother and the skating boy have improved tremendously and enjoy putting their skates on practicing outside whenever they have the opportunity. :)
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