My Out Of The Box!

By Wendy Joy


I was sitting on the beach reading under an umbrella when my 20 year old son came over and said that he was going to go on a jet ski.  My first words were "be careful...please don't go too fast".  But it was my next words that shocked even me...."I'm coming".   "Really?" was his reaction.  It was a happy "really?"  Maybe a surprised "really?".  But even though I was nervous and would have loved to sit for a couple of more hours, I went.  Something inside of me felt like I needed to do something "out of the box", something a little scary and thrilling and my feet just kept walking to the jet ski. What I didn't know was that I was going to remember this ride for the rest of my life.  I held on tight to my son, as he sat in front and led the way.  I was definitely screaming "be careful, go slow and omg!!!!",  but it was different than the way I was telling him when I was sitting on my beach chair.  This one was that of a much younger person being scared and having a blast at the same time.  Being able to hold onto my son and let him take me over the waves and slow down for me when I got too nervous was both heart pounding and exhilarating.   I felt like a kid again as the water pushed up from the ocean onto my face and I screamed with happiness.  That's just it....I wasn't just happy, I was screaming with happiness.  At one point I just held on tight and took in the moment silently as I held on....thinking "wow, I need to get off the beach chair more often".

No, this wasn't how we were jet skiing, but
the thrill I had was as if we were!!!

You may be a jet ski expert and go on daily rides with one foot on the seat and the other in the air behind you like a ballet dancer...but I am not.  There may be something that you would find to be out of the box that I do on an everyday basis.  The point is to try to do something, no matter how small, that makes us a little nervous and excited at the same time.  If I didn't go that day I wouldn't have this incredible memory with my son...not to mention that I look forward to doing it again soon.  But even if walking to the park alone and sitting on a bench and eating lunch is something you have never done....then do it.  Try a food that you have never eaten before, take a walk and have yogurt for dinner on a summer night instead of cooking.  Jump off a dock and take a dip in the ocean or lake (don't forget to scream out loud when you do it!), or jump off the high diving board at the pool, or as my friend did last year (jump out of a plane).

 I'm still not sure I need that kind of thrill, but she did and she loved it.  She happened to have done it with her son too.  It kind of puts my jet ski story to shame, but that was my thrill, my out of the box, my change, and I loved it.