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free dance at the 2012 World Championships. I never saw him look happier or more satisfied with how he had skated. They didn’t win the gold medal at Worlds that year, but it didn’t matter to him. And watching his joy, it didn’t matter to me either.


Were there ever times when you thought it was best for them to quit?


CHERYL: I never thought about them quit- ting. It was never considered.


JACQUI: There was never a time when I thought it would be best for Meryl and Char- lie to quit dancing. They both have such pas- sion for what they do that to suggest they quit would be like handing out a punishment. There were times when I thought Charlie was tired as a result of his busy schedule and I ad- vised him to take a break. He sometimes took a day or two off from training, but was always anxious to get back on the ice.


the future


What is your greatest surprise along the journey?


CHERYL: I think that my greatest surprise and joy is that they are still here and that they are still enjoying skating and their partnership.


JACQUI: My greatest surprise along the jour- ney is all of it. When Meryl and Charlie start- ed skating together, I wouldn’t say I had low expectations; I had NO expectations; It was like signing him up for T-ball or soccer camp. I didn’t expect a kid’s fun activity to blossom into an amateur career, especially such a successful one. It’s like I said in the question about the early ground rules, we always took Charlie’s skating, and everything else he did, one day at a time. So before we knew it, with- out thinking too much about it along the way, all those days added up to a successful skating career.


How will your lives change when Meryl and Charlie retire from competitive skating?


CHERYL: I really don’t know. I will let you know when that time comes.


JACQUI: I don’t expect my life to change too much, because what I do for Charlie and with Charlie has changed gradually over the years. When he was little I, of course, had to do everything for him. But as the years went by, he learned how to do things for himself and has taken over all the work that I used to do, except the costumes. He actually could handle the costumes on his own with Meryl, but he knows I enjoy being a part of the de- cision-making process with them. My main


job at this point is simple, but I still think it’s important and that is to be there for sup- port. If he needs anything while he’s training that I can help him with, I’m there in a flash. When they retire, I will enjoy him just like I do the rest of my kids, with a Sunday dinner or a baseball game or just hanging out on the deck for a summer cookout. The rest of the time, I will do what I do now, only with fewer interruptions.


What do you want people to remember most about your daughter/son?


CHERYL: I want people to remember how hard Meryl has worked and how kind she has been and is to others.


JACQUI: I want people to remember Charlie first for the person he is, a person who be- lieves in fairness and hard work. I want peo- ple to remember he was a person who, from the time he started skating at 3 years old, believed that if he worked hard enough he could do anything, that his heart was in his skating every day of his life and he was willing to work to challenge himself to be the best. Second, I would like people to remember Charlie and Meryl for bringing more athleti- cism to ice dance in response to the introduc- tion of the IJS, dovetailing the sport aspect of ice dance with the art.


series The


by Olga Jaffae


skating fantasy books for readers of all ages


order online at olgajaffae.tateauthor.com


36 DECEMBER 2013


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