Hooked: Adventure and Self Growth

So far, I have BASE-jumped the bridge twice. Maybe you have read the previous blogs, maybe not, but these jumps have become a journey to find me again and re-light my candle of excitement. You may be asking what is next? More BASE jumping of course. I hope to jump as many times as possible, in as many places as possible. David will attest to the fact that I am persistent and energetic when it comes to jumping. I think I have found something here; let me tell you about jump three.

The first and second times I jumped started a journey to find out who I have become and who I am going to become. Those jumps solidified that I cannot only be defined by my role as a mother, a therapist, a sister, or a friend. I have to be able to define myself. Plus, you can only do so many puzzles and color so many adult coloring books. It starts to get awkward when you’ve gone to so many paint-and-sip classes the teacher knows who you are and starts giving you pointers based on repeated mistakes, or when you know who to ask for more air hockey pucks at the mall. These days there is one thing I cannot get off my mind: the next jump. The contrast between the two prior jumps was immense. What will the third be like?

My sister and I were sitting on our back porch one afternoon talking about my adventures when she said she was ready to try it. I was so excited that she was going to be able to share my experience. I may have been persistently encouraging her to try this extreme sport with the best annoying little sister spirit. I was also excited that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to jump again. After all, we would already be out there. We set it up for her to jump the next day right before sunset. I watched with excitement as my sister went through the safety explanations, practiced the landing, and strapped into the harness. We head out to the bridge where I filmed her jumping from the top. It was rewarding to see her support my new interest and absolutely love it herself.

I waited anxiously up top for David and sister to return. Please do not set sun! I did not want to miss an opportunity. You see my second jump was David’s 6^th night tandem jump. Only his sixth! He has thousands of skydives, and at the moment I’m writing this, around 234 tandem BASE jumps. It was the most incredible experience for me, but I could tell he did not love it as much. I mean I love space travel, but I also recognize the potential danger of tandem jumping at night poses. After this jump, I gained some perspective on the mechanics of the sport, but I’ll get to that later. (Just to be clear, I would jump a million times with David at night. He is an expert and I have always felt incredibly safe when we jumped) They made it up with plenty of time before the sunset. I mean, the sun was much higher than it was for the night jump so I was optimistic we would make it out there. We suited up and headed out to our favorite light pole. There was still plenty of light. The platform was in place and the harness was triple-checked. The bridge was busy today with dozens of jumpers. It was exciting! We went through the safety check on my harness one last time, climbed the stairs, and checked the camera. The heavy safety chain dropped to the ground, and it was time to turn left. This time my mind was only focused on how excited I was to jump. Now my toes are out, my knees are bent, I’m ready! Or am I? Yes! NUMBER THREE! We sail off the platform, and for some silly reason, I was trying not to scream. Word of advice, SCREAM! Scream your heart out! It is the best therapy and David doesn’t mind.

The parachute opened as expected, lifting us into that peaceful place where time stops for just a moment. We drift to the right with the intention of banking to the left and sailing over the river. The wind, however, had different plans. It was a mild wind, but it kept pushing us to the right. No river today. I could hear David put extra effort into directing the shoot out of the breeze. My arms really hurt for him, but there was not a second that I doubted his abilities or my safety. He steered us to the target eloquently when we consider the unexpected breeze. This time was a bit faster. Our descent was more of a race than the graceful float down during the second jump. I remember us turning past the canyon wall and hearing him call out “get ready! Lift your legs!” and thinking what wait? Now?!Oh! YES! NOW! The ground was already right there.

We landed in the taller grass safe and sound. The first thing I noticed was a sweet little doe welcoming us to the bottom. I said David! A deer! And he laughed and said are you deer watching or BASE jumping?! Both my friend! I am taking in each and every precious moment of life, excitement, and beauty as it comes. I felt blessed that I found this daring individual who loves sharing this experience with others and that he has the expert know-how to face the challenges that just pop up. I get the fear of night tandems now. I still LOVED space travel, but I have a sincere appreciation for his expertise and concern for my safety, OUR safety. We could all learn a lesson from his dedication to knowing his limitations and drive to be the best all while living in the moment, as we should. It goes without saying that this won’t be my last jump. I have learned so many lessons in just THREE! So, bring on the adventure. Send me that wanderlust car sticker!