not for the faint of heart

i have never had the desire to jump out of an airplane. maybe a momentary desire if i was sitting next to someone who stunk or in front of a child who wouldn't quit kicking my chair. but to voluntarily jump? for the thrill of it? no thanks. i'd rather just sit right here and get a refill on my diet coke thankyouverymuch.

and i do not have daredevil children. or i didn't think i did until a recent weekend where we ran into this pie-in-the-sky tower that included a four-story rockwall and a zipline.

i had never climbed a rockwall. and since there was no chance in this remote location of running into another mom from school who could see me strapped into this diaper-like apparatus, i gave it a go. let me tell you something. it is a lot more fun coming down than going up. i was very good at coming down. i could push off the side and not flip around in the air. it's fun to come down. going up? not so much.

the little "rocks" are very small. they were not big enough for my size 8 foot. i kept looking for a reasonable next step up the wall. there was none. i made it about four feet off the floor. my fourth grader made it all the way to the top and rang the bell.

so next, the zipline. i've seen people on reality shows riding a zipline and thought it looked like a blast. it's the sensation of flying through the air while holding onto a rope.

it was high off the ground. very high. look.




i went twice. and both times i almost chickened out at the last minute. i asked the guy, who was all of 18, to double-check the harnesses. i asked what was the most weight it could hold. (300 pounds.) i asked if anyone had ever died there. ("not yet.") he thought i was a nut. i don't care, dude. i'm about to step off a ledge and just hope to god that this tiny cord holds me.

my older, very cautious son has no qualms about stepping off the landing. i am at once proud and doubtful of his decisions in life. we are way higher than the trees.




i had to get a picture of the two of them about to tandem jump. i think next time i jump i would like not just a helmet but full body armor.




and here they come, flying through the air.




the little one asked if we could perhaps get an all-day pass to the zipline. the answer to that would be NO.




i'd like to apologize in advance to my mom, who has now had to see these pictures twice, of her beloved grandsons flying through space on a tiny wire. this is why we don't tell you what we are doing in advance, mom. by the time you see this, you will know that we survived.