Dear Myla and Piper,
Your dad and I have now been married for four years! This year, it was my turn to plan our anniversary date. Your dad is a thrill seeker. Listen: there has been nothing more thrilling in my life than birthing you two crazies. But, I wanted to think of something for us to do this year that your daddy would
love (without, you know, having another baby).
Fun fact: this is our first anniversary where I am not pregnant or nursing, so what could we do with my newfound freedom?! SKYDIVE.
I know what you're thinking, kids: "How could mom go skydiving when her idea of a wild time involves renting a movie on a weeknight?" Well, I don't know what to tell you. I just wanted my husband to think I'm still a cool chick. (Spoiler alert-- SUCCESS).
The morning of the jump, I ran back into the house to down a couple swigs of Pepto Bismal and was in a really pissy mood the entire drive. I couldn't help it-- the nerves took over. I watched the video and shakily signed a form that stated I and my estate have no legal rights whatsoever in the event of my death (even if it were at the fault of the skydiving company, manufacturer, etc). I felt like a terrible mother. Then, I placed my life in the hands of my instructor-- a 24-year-old girl who goes by "Tubbs." Let's just say Tubbs is lucky I didn't pee (or worse) in the jump suit she loaned me.
Fun Fact #2: Looking at our photos, I realized that my terrified smile reminded me of seeing that same smile once before on Dave...at our wedding. :)
[It all worked out, though. Whew!]
You walk onto a rinky-dink plane and sit on a bench. You watch them close the door that looks less secure than the ones at your local storage garage. Tubbs tried to ask me about my hobbies (probably to loosen me up). "Um, I don't know..." I said. "Reading and stuff like that is cool, too," she told me. I think I muttered something about how I can read. The first guy jumped at 5,000 feet by himself, and I remember asking Tubbs if we would get sucked out of the plane when he opens the door. We didn't. When we hit 14,000 feet, it was our turn.
The verdict: getting from the plane to the jump is the hardest part. Tubbs said, "Ready, set, GO!" Then, we were falling. The air feels like the wind on your face when you are skiing down a mountain. You should ski down a mountain sometime, kids. I know I wasn't screaming, but my mouth was open, and for 60 seconds, these thoughts were going through my head:
"Oh my God." (Sorry for using your name in vain, Lord, but I want to accurately document the moment).
"I'm swallowing so much air, my throat is probably going to start hurting."
"I should close my mouth."
"I probably don't look like I'm having much fun with my mouth closed like this."
Deep thoughts, kids. Then, after what seemed like a full minute but also only a second, Tubs gave me the signal to open the chute. I did it! The entire parachuting part feels fake, like you're floating. It's as if you're hanging in the sky and not really going down at all. It is almost like you're watching yourself in a movie (a really awesome movie). Due to some unforeseen wind and our light weight, Tubbs let me know we would be landing pretty far from where we started. I wasn't scared anymore, though. Not until I looked down at the "field" we would use for landing and saw field, trees, and a fence. "Just don't put me on the fence-- I might want to have more children one day!" I told her. She probably thinks I'm crazy. We landed in someone's backyard. On our butts. ALIVE.
Tubs kept apologizing that we were so far away, but I didn't care since we survived. After walking for a few minutes, a man and his wife drove by and let us hop into the back of their truck. After a few minutes, the guy from Westside Skydivers came by in his truck and took us the rest of the way back to the airport (but not before the lady in the truck took a photo of her interesting hitchhikers).
Needless to say, Dave had a blast, and I would do it again...Maybe.
Before boarding the plane:
Last fun fact: See the guy in the red jumpsuit? Yea, he is a first-timer. If you look really closely, you can see his tandem instructor's ear. Red jumpsuit guy? He's probably about 6'2. Instructor? 5'5. It was an odd pairing if I ever saw one.
I would say he enjoyed it.
Myla and Piper, I'll leave Dad's video at the bottom for proof that we did something cool. But first, I'll leave you with this: You don't have to skydive if you don't want to. Ever. But, sometime, you should do something you never imagined you would do. You should do something that reminds you how small you are and how big God is. You should do something that reminds you how powerless you are in this life. You should do something big that makes you PRAY so you realize all the other stuff you should be praying about in your everyday life. You should do something fun with someone you love.
I am sure glad I did.
Love,
Mom
The Video
[I was too cheap to pay $100 more for a video of my face flapping in the wind, so this one is mostly of Dave.]
