After tossing and turning for a while in the bed, I reached over and asked Brent to pray with me.
“I am so stressed about parasailing tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t have to do it, you know.” Brent replies.
“Well, yes, I do. I already purchased the fare, told Sprite we were going, and I can’t let fear control this choice. If I back out, I will regret it. And at the same time, I am worried about all the things that go could wrong. Will they take us out to the Gulf of Mexico? (the night before we were on a dolphin sightseeing tour and we sat a couple of minutes at the mouth of the Gulf where due to weather conditions, allowed 3+ food swells that severely rocked the boat). Will my harness detach and send me plummeting into the ocean? Will we have on life jackets? (I can swim, but just thinking about safety things). What would be swimming around in the water that I can’t see that would terrify me?” Though knowing about the unknown is also terrifying.
So many questions.
Brent prayed.
He prayed for my safety, my thoughts, and asked for peace, and enjoyment with parasailing.
I woke up the following morning, feeling better, less anxious, and bent on enjoying this opportunity.
We picked the first appointment of the day.
After arrived, checked in, and waited for the captain.
Once he and his first mate arrived (I Iearned some boat lingo while in Florida), we boarded the boat.
This is it.
We meandered our way out…to the Gulf.
As we got closer and closer, Sprite began shaking.
This is where we experienced the waves just the night before.
I assured her everything would be fine, even though inside, I was also terrified.
And, lucky us, no one volunteered to go first, and we were sitting closest to the stern – so, guess what? We were first up!
But, hey, I have a life vest on.
Check mark for a worried safety measure.
The captain found the spot where he and the first mate pulled out the sail and readied all the things for us to attach and be sent high into the sky.
It’s time.
I’m off the boat – it’s really real.
I’m over top the water!
I believe I am telling Sprite, “We really did it!”
This excursion took us up about 500ft.
The view up there was amazing.
Everything was so quiet, serene, and beautiful.
We were up there about 10 minutes, then they began bringing us in.
As we began our descent, Sprite asked, “are they going to dip us into the water?”
“I’m not sure. They didn’t verify we would do that.”
As initially terrifying as this was, I would totally do it again.
And it looks like Sprite will be my accomplice with all things fear and daring – as no one else wanted to join our adventure.
We left the boat a little seasick – happened when the boat was still vs moving.
But we will definitely do this again when provided the chance.
If you haven’t gone parasailing, I highly recommend it.
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