Fulfilling Lifelong Dreams!

I want to start by saying Happy Canada Day, and to those south of the border, Happy Independence Day. My page is finally fixed and up and working so, here’s a new post for you all to enjoy.

New Adventures

Well, it has been an exciting couple of weeks. I have had some new adventures and fulfilled a lifelong dream! I was able to spend some time with great friends and learned a new game. So this post kind of ties in with my post about finding the nuggets that fill your pot of gold called life. Finding things or people in life that make you happy, fill your cup, or feed your soul.

When my kids were younger, I made sure to be at all the games and practices and everything in between. Before they had me running from here to there, I would play a lot of soccer. I loved to play soccer. My knees did not like me playing soccer. After I tore up my “good knee” and had to have surgery to fix it, my doctor told me that if I wanted to walk at 40 years old, I needed to stop playing.

So, I did. Then I chased kids and found a few new sports that I enjoy doing.

Rowing anyone?

Last month I got to add a new sport to the list. My friend and I joined a rowing club and did a learn-to-row class. We were in a double skull and had many laughs trying to figure out how to make this boat do what it is supposed to do. The biggest thing we learned was that we had been rowing incorrectly in the gym for years!

So, I learned lesson number one, row properly, it’s easier!

Lesson number two, never let go of the oars and if you do, be thankful that you have “training wheel” outriggers to balance the boat. Sometimes we would laugh so hard that the outriggers saved us. I have to say that rowing is an enjoyable sport. It’s a workout for sure, but I don’t mind that.

I am intrigued to see what it is like in a bigger boat, and maybe on my own, we will see. I am always game to go out with my Buddy and make up our own words for the commands. Life is more fun when you can make someone laugh; in rowing, just make sure you hold on to the oars!

Next up, I learned how to, or I should say attempted to learn, how to play spikeball. The youtube videos and Dude Perfect make it look easy. IT IS NOT EASY! Imagine six adults 48-60 years old attempting to play spikeball. I think we had more pee breaks from laughing so hard than points! It did provide a few hours of fun for us, and if you are interested, you can click here get one for yourself. All ages can play it, and I would highly recommend picking one up. Any age can attempt this game, and you can have teams so many people can play at once. Now that restrictions are opening up, and we can get together with more people, this is a fun way to spend a few hours.

My Lifelong Dream

Now, on to that lifelong dream that I fulfilled!

Have you ever had a dream so big that you thought it would never happen? The stars would never align and make it happen, or you maybe thought it was just a bit crazy, and perhaps that’s why you shouldn’t do it? Well, my dream was to fly. If I had a superpower, it would be to fly like an eagle through the sky. I would dream about it, and I looked forward to the day that it would happen. Well, the day came. I finally got to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and fly!

You read that right; I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane! Sky diving was a lifelong dream of mine. I am so excited that my Buddy had a birthday and agreed to jump with me! We jumped from 9500 feet, and it was everything I hoped for and more!

Kevin asked me the morning of the jump if I was nervous.

I said that I was excited, but it was nervous excitement if that made sense. Kevin said I think you are excited, and you are picking up on my nervousness.

When we met up with our friends at the jump site, the four staying on the ground were very nervous, and my friend jumping didn’t know how he felt. I, on the other hand, was all in.

It was finally going to happen.

This dream I had had since I was a little girl. I was very calm. I knew that I was going to be safe—the what-ifs never entered my mind.

We had a slight rain delay, but then we got loaded into the plane.

It took a bit to get up to elevation. I just kept looking around, and it all felt surreal.

Was this actually happening? Then the side door opened, and I thought, yep, I’m jumping out of this plane. Take in this moment and enjoy the 30-second freefall. Keep your eyes open and look around. Feel all the feels you have in these 30 seconds.

We climbed out onto the step and then we were flying!

Falling at 120 mph, and it was amazing!

Like I said before, it was everything I wanted and more.

When the chute opened, I had tears running down my face, happy tears. It was one of those moments where I asked, did that just really happen? Yes, it did! We did one big bank-like turn, and I told him that the people on the ground wouldn’t like what would hit them if he did that again. My tummy doesn’t do twisty! He complied, and we had a great descent down to the ground.

I did get to steer us down for a while, which was pretty cool. I didn’t even need to do that, though. I just wanted to look around and see what it was like to fly. A little slower at this point, but it was simply amazing.

The landing was better than I expected, and Kevin looked relieved when I was back on the ground. I was so excited to watch my friend come down behind us to land. I was excited that he jumped, but mostly I was so excited because he just experienced what I did, and the joy for both of us was evident on our faces.

It was such a great reminder for me to continue to dream big and don’t give up on my dreams. When the time is right, it will happen. It also reminds me to keep on living. Keep pushing yourself to try new things and live in the moment when they happen.

I feel very blessed to go on adventures with such great friends. I have a feeling we have many more adventures in the future. I hope you can find friends in your life that support you and experience life with you, either by watching you jump or jumping with you.

Now I don’t expect all of you to run out and skydive, but I would highly recommend it! I encourage you to find something this summer that you have never done and try it. Make a point to schedule it in, and enjoy the moments as they happen.

Have a great long weekend, everyone and if you’re playing spike ball, good luck!

Positive ways to move forward in your life during July’s energy.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads!

A Step Ahead Healing