Negative temperatures, inches upon inches of snow, and shoveling until you can no longer feel your back; this is how most people would describe a typical winter in Chicago. But instead of dreading the cold, my family prays for it. We figure that Chicago's brutal winters are inevitable, so we might as well make the best out of them. That is why we skate--in our backyard.
While most people are sitting inside their warm houses under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands, my family is tying their ice skates and getting dressed in layers of clothing to beat the below-zero temperatures. Now you're probably wondering why we build an ice rink in our backyard. My family has always been hockey fanatics; my dad is a die-hard Blackhawks fan, my brother has played hockey his whole life, and my sister has been ice skating for years. Although my mom and I were never ice skaters ourselves, we were naturally forced to learn. So as a result, we decided to fully embrace our love for ice by freezing our backyard.
So my family is passionate about hockey and ice skating, but we didn't know much about building an ice rink when we first started. We failed many times while trying to build it at first, but just like anything, trial and error is key. And after years of trying and learning from our mistakes, we have developed a useful method for building an ice rink. It is a process and a family effort, and with the help of all five of us, we are able to build it in two hours--that is our record time. Building our ice rink is tradition. Every November right after Thanksgiving, my family knows that it's time to start building and monitoring the weekly forecasts, hoping for freezing temperatures. Now you might think that we are slightly crazy but let me tell you that there is no better way to bond with your family than trying to build an ice rink together.
After hammering stakes and 4x4 pieces of wood into the ground to form the foundation of the ice rink, we cover the boards with a tarp and then water the tarp. Yes, we literally water the ice rink every night, and as you probably guessed, we are the only people on our block who use the hose in the middle of January.
Once the ice rink is frozen, we fully enjoy the winter. We ice skate at times ranging from when we wake up until 1 a.m., until we can no longer feel our face, fingers, or toes. We skate, play hockey, we fall, we laugh, and most of all, we truly enjoy the cold days of winter. There is honestly nothing better than being able to put on a pair of ice skates and skate in your backyard and immerse yourself in Chicago's brutal winters.
