Sky diving is an amazing thing to do. It was exhilarating and lovely and so cool. It took a long time until we finally got a 5 minute training and then got up in the air. We got there at 3:30 and filled out seven or eight pages of "you will not sue even if you are maimed" and "oh by the way, you could die" paperwork. Then we sat around for hours watching other people get suited up, take videos and pictures, get in planes, jump and float back down to us.
But when we were in the plane, I was so amazed at how fast we climbed to 13,000 feet. It seemed like it only took a minute. Then they opened the door and the experienced divers went out. After them, we scooted to the opening of the plane where I sat on the floor and dangled my feet over the edge of the plane. My tandem jumper, Dane, was right behind me (well, how could he not be as we were strapped closely together.) Then I arched my back and crossed my arms, looked up at the sky and we jumped. It was a feeling I have never experienced. It only took a few seconds for us to be traveling at 120 miles per hour. Imagine all the air rushing past you as you struggle to breathe, enjoy, and smile.
I had a videographer named Ted who was such a cool guy. He told me to scream a lot as it looked cool on the video. Turned out that wasn't a hard request. Also, I had an interesting time keeping my lips together as wind rushing past at such a fast rate of speed produces dry yet sticky lips in 2 seconds flat. Not flattering though I was too happy to care.
The coolest part was looking around and seeing all the earth and the horizon from so high up off the earth. The farms look like the computer boards that Cameron got out of an old computer. The clouds look pillowy and the sky was so blue. As we were falling, I thought about what it must look like from below and I realized that seeing something and doing it are just so different. Seeing it is cool but doing it produces a perspective that you just cannot imagine from down on the ground.
After a minute, Dane pulled the ripcord and out came the parachute. This begins a different phase of the experience. No longer are you barreling through space toward the earth. Now you are floating and looking round. Dane let me guide the parachute and I turned and tried to twist around to experience the cool feelings and get the full spectrum of what the ground looked like from up there. It is cool to watch other parachutes flying around too and I got a great view of my sister as she spun over and over while headed to the ground. What a great perspective!
As we got close to the ground, Dane had me practice pulling my legs up and basically not getting in his way as he landed us on the ground. Good idea considering I have trouble standing on still ground, let alone ground that is coming up way faster than an escalator. It was great to land and then stand on solid ground. Not that I missed it exactly, just that it was a new sensation after having fallen from so high.
He did a great job getting us to the ground and unhooked me almost immediately. I ran to Jeannine and we hugged and screamed that "We did it!" I could hear Rylee screaming my name and people cheering. My Dad even got teary-eyed watching his girls come down out of the plane. Ted Dad has made hundreds of jumps and was the instigation of such a wild and crazy adventure.
Hopefully, that was not the last time I will embark upon an experience which gives me the opportunity to change my perspective for the better. What a great and amazing day. I will have a video and a roll of film so I can recall this day over and over in the future. Yeah for Sky Diving!
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