Skateboarding

As I look at these pics it blows my mind that up until a month prior to these pics, little Eden didn't even wear skateboard pads. Really there was no need to. And tonight as I packed the car for our early am skate sesh I almost thought I was gonna have to cancel when I could not find her pads. Now she absolutely could not skate without them. What a difference this month has made. I know that life is all about the ebb and flow. There are periods of growth and stagnation in anything, but this past month has been a crazy period of growth for Eden in terms of skateboarding. And I can't help but wonder if this newer passion of hers will stick. Selfishly I want it to cause watching her skate is one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed, and I'm sure it is just because I am her mom, but really everything about it is so captivating to me. Even the process with which she learns - which requires meticulous repetition, I have not seen anything quite like it. Some days it infuriates me (because she will refuse to try things even when she is more than able), but more and more it just leaves me awestruck. She has a system. She is not fearless, she is calculated. And she progresses into her abilities not with bravery but with talent. Not talent that is raw but talent that has been practiced again and again and again until the move is just right.

When we have time before practice, I take Eden to a parking lot nearby to warm up.

I love the movement and passion these photos capture.

Zion does some pretty radical jumps with his scooter these days. I've nerver really been able to capture it, but trust me, it happens.

Learning to drop in

Practicing kick turns

Eden's dear friend and our neighbor Bodhi

I'm kind of obsessed with this picture of Eden's friend Nick for some reason..this guy has been one of Eden's very favorite people this summer. It's been fun to get to know him and his family...

I really like this one too.

One day Eden said she wanted to go down this ramp. It was out of nowhere. Nobody suggested it - I'm not really sure where she came up with it except that maybe she wanted to do it cause Zi had been doing it. 

Here she is going down it. She was super brave and ate it pretty badly and was subsequently scared of it for a couple lessons after. But her teacher featured this picture on his instagram account which got a lot of likes and even got a comment from Eden's skateboarding hero Sabre Norris, and that made Eden feel pretty happy.

Here goes Nick's first attempt. Eden and Nick really push each other...

After a few lessons of being scared of it, the big wave became her favorite thing in the world. Lately we can not get her to concentrate on class, she just wants to go down this thing 100 times, over and over.

And up the other side - only to go back down again...

And then back up..

Getting up this ramp isn't easy. It's slippery and steep and in the early days of this move it often required lots of teamwork.

Nick

I love this of Eden going down and Zion going up - it really captures the system they get into.

By the end of the month she was dropping in all on her own.