May 25, 2020

As Graduation rolls around and we are all having to adapt to these new ways of celebrating, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the things that will be different for kids these days than they were for us. High school dances, summer camp, birthday parties... Birthday Party at Skateland,” and “Cherry Coke and Popcorn” pay homage to the coveted birthday party of all 12 year olds of my day- a skate party! Not yet old enough for a real party without the parents, but waaay too cool for a birthday party at home, Skateland was the perfect option.

Skateland Was the Place to Be!

Many of us had spent lots of Saturdays honing our roller skating skills and were more than ready to show them off to all of our friends (I can still smell the brand new white leather skates with the yellow pom poms that I had gotten the preceding Christmas). The multicolored, patterned carpet, the veneered plastic snack bar counter and the colored disco lights are as fresh in my mind as the cherry coke and popcorn that we consumed when we took a break after the “couples skate.” Even if the coveted birthday party of the future isn’t a skate party, here’s hoping that we can get back to a kind of normal where kids can be with other kids, in their spot, enjoying that ever so important feeling of growing up.