Day 206 ~ A Nice Place to Visit

July 25, 2014

My Instead: My daughter Robin, my friend Mel, and I went parasailing over the Gulf of Mexico. 

Let’s go back about 25 years. My family and I were in the Ozarks and it was daredevil time. Parasailing over the Lake of the Ozarks was next on our vacation agenda. My oldest Todd went with my friend Maureen. Kyle, the middle child, went with my husband Gary and Robin went with me. She was a brave soul at 5-years-old with no screams emitted.  

Time travels to the present. Robin is 30 now and she and I are in Florida for the It Works Green Carpet Experience. Before the It Works evening event in Bradenton, our group decided to take advantage of our “daytime” Friday. We loaded up our two vehicles and headed for the beach AND the ocean, which was actually the Gulf of Mexico. The outing was fun from the beginning with a tree climbing venture. (This tree was amazing.) Then the water and the beach called us. We answered. Our towels and bags were abandoned on the beach as we strolled into the warm ocean water. We waded and floated for some time and then sunned ourselves, wondering what the rich people were doing that day…one of my dad’s favorite lines. 

Lunchtime and a few cocktails (for some of us) were next. As we sat on the patio, we noticed some parasails in the distance. I looked at Mel and said that I’m game for doing that. She was in! We phoned around and found out the pricing and times available. There were no more takers in our group EXCEPT my “afraid of heights” daughter. The other gals went back to the house and Mel, Robin and I went off to our parasailing adventure. How often does one get a chance to do this and over the ocean at that! We may never pass this way again.  

We had a bumpy boat ride taking us to the boat that had all the parasail rigging. I think I lost my uterus somewhere in our wake. We finally arrived at our destination and were transferred to the boat. We donned our gear, got hooked up, and the three of us were airborne before we had time to get nervous. While Robin maintained her death grip, I was hands free! Gotta trust…after all, what is the worst thing that can happen? They said we would be up 500 feet. I wondered how bad it would hurt if we plummeted into the water from this height...that’s all, just wondered. Mel was beginning to feel nauseated, but we were at the point of no return. I was just glad she wasn’t in the middle!

I looked around at the expanse below and felt a peaceful separation: the hassles, the troubles, the evils. I was free from them all for those 15 minutes. But when it came time to be reeled in, I was ready. The departure filled my senses, but my return brought me back to all the good things in my life…too many to count and one was right next to me, my daughter…again.