Blue Skies

I haven't always been weird. It's something that's happened to me in the past 10 years or so. Because I haven't always been weird, I have to remind myself that I am. Actually, I get reminders from other people's reaction to the things I think are great ideas and that other folks think are stupid.

Like jumping out of an airplane... something I've "always" wanted to do. Terrill's heard me say this many times, and so, for my 40th birthday, he planned a skydive trip for me. When he told me, I was THRILLED! When I called friends to tell them, they were horrified.

But we did it.... yesterday!! And let me tell you that it was every stitch as much fun as I thought it would be!! It was the most thrilling thing I've ever done. And Terrill did it with me. (Thanks, Honey!) He wasn't crazy about the idea, but he realized the importance of sharing this experience. I mean, how much fun is watching a really good movie alone and then having no one to discuss it with?

Terrill and I have talked about it a lot, but we haven't really found words that explain the experience. Thrilling, exciting and fun just don't seem to do it justice. There were a few things that I didn't expect - like when the airplane door opened. That was an incredible sight... as I sat perched on the edge of the airplane looking down. It's a long way down - especially when you know how you're getting to the ground! Another thing I didn't expect was the wind. I mean, I knew it'd be windy, but I just didn't realize the power of wind against the human body falling at 128 miles an hour. Yeah - that's some wind.

And here's the strangest thing that surprised me: I never really felt like I was falling - it was more like I was flying. Vertically. Down. Fast.

My only complaint was that it was just too short. From airplane to ground was probably only about a 3 or 4 minute trip. I jumped at 10,000 feet (about 2 miles) and did a 30-second free fall. After that, the parachute part was just a walk in the park!

So... Thank you, Terrill for a WONDERFUL birthday and thank you, Higgs and Grahams, for hanging out with us and being there for moral support (and camera crew and video crew and refreshment crew and babysitting crew)!

The sad part is that I think my birthday celebrations finally have to cease. I milked it for all I could with dinners out, girls' weekend, skydiving... Now I've got to think about how to clean the top of the living room fan blades and what to fix for dinner this week.

Blue Skies....

p.s. as a follow up to my previous post, i want to let you know that i finally figured how to pray... i simply asked the Lord to do for the mikulaks exactly what He did for us: surround them with incredible people who love and support them, lead their son away from them gently and tenderly, and remind them of His faithful promise to never leave them or forsake them.