Catch Me!

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I am terrified of heights. I can’t even stand on a step ladder without my legs shaking. In dreams of falling, I always crash to the ground and die. I’m a freak like that. But my husband’s one request on our trip to Maui was that we zipline as a family. So, I booked the excursion and secretly resented my husband for a month. I began plotting ways to get out of it. But the days continued to pass and each hint from me that our family did not need to do a dangerous excursion was met with silence. Which, as we all know, is the final answer in any marital argument.

So, I decided that I would rather hate him for making me zipline, than have him hate me for not doing it. Yes, I am perfectly mentally healthy.

The night before the plunge of doom, I was up sobbing in our hotel room. Why was this happening? Why would he want to do this? How could he subject our family to this?

I am a joy.

My husband wanted to do this excursion, because he felt that our son needed this boost for his self esteem. My son had been dreading a wonderful field trip our school does for its fifth graders. They have to zipline during a three day camp. We really wanted him to go with his peers. He thought if our son saw that he could accomplish this, he might be more inclined to try other new things. Once again, he was right.

The next morning, we arrived at the zipline excursion. It is hosted by Maui Tropical Plantation and is called Maui Zipline Company. The grounds are beautiful and lush. But between every branch is a spider. And there are fun creepy crawlies everywhere. My kids, who had been apprehensive about ziplining (definitely having nothing to do with a hysterical woman tormenting them the night before), decided they would much rather be on the zipline tower than on the ground with the spiders and bugs.

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So, now I was all alone in the war against the zipline. At this point, I could not let my babies go up alone. Plus, I am cheap and there are no refunds once you get there.

The guides introduced themselves. I knew I had to go through with this. One of the guides looked like Brad Pitt, but younger and sweeter. We are going to call him L.B. (I need to protect his innocence). My husband later asked me if I would have gone through with it for less attractive guides. I, unfortunately, had to answer “no.” Heck, if you think you are going to plummet to your death, you might as well have something pretty to look at on the way down.

They strapped us into our gear. L.B. explained that although there is a braking system, they will be the ones ultimately catching us. Sigh. He stated he would like to have kids one day, perhaps in ten years, so please be careful with your legs when he comes in to catch you. This brought many images into my mind. I will share with you the PG image. It was the vision of what my ovaries will look like in ten years. Shivers. It was not pretty. Our poor babies never had a chance.

We climbed our first ziplining tower. It was fifty feet high, which I guess is pretty mild in the ziplining world. To me, it felt like Mount Everest. Tears rolled down my cheeks. My legs started trembling. It was quite embarrassing. Then the wind kicked up and the tower began swaying. Okay, maybe not swaying, but it definitely moved. It was terrifying.

They decided my son and I would go on parallel lines as the third and fourth people to go. Let me backtrack and state that there was another family on this excursion with us. They were a family of five. They were very quiet. I am quite positive, yours truly, was not their cup of tea.

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My son started to back out. And I realized this mommy better buck up and do this if my children were going to have this experience. So, I bent down when they told me to and let it happen. It was actually quite easy. I looked behind me to see if my son had proceeded after me. He had! We both landed safely at the next tower. We had made it! Only FOUR more to go!

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Each tower, after that, was easier. On the final zipline, you are only twenty feet off the ground. And you know what? I let go. I let go of the handles, for perhaps just one second. Nothing bad happened. It was actually fun. It was exhilarating! I was soaring! And then the most amazing thing happened, L.B. caught me. I was back on the ground. My legs ached. My back ached. My heart ached (good bye L.B.!). But my soul was full.

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Have you been ziplining? What did you think of the experience?

10 thoughts on “Catch Me!

  1. What awesome pics of you guys! And the zip line team. 🙂 I’m glad you and your boy were brave and ended up having so much fun. I think I’d zip line naked and upside-down to get away from the creepy crawlies down below! Ugggh!! Sounds like an amazing adventure! Can’t wait to see more pics.

  2. I really enjoy your blog! This is my first reply to tell you how awesome it is what your did for your family… I would have been freaking out too! I had to laugh about the cute tour guide..because I had a similar experience with my first birth. I was terrified to get an epidural.. but the cute anesthesiologist made my fears melt away. Thanks for sharing your stories.. and it is so interesting and funny the way you tell them. Do you think you will ever zip line again?

    • Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate it. I am glad I am not the only one who will be persuaded by a pretty face to overcome a fear. ; ).

      I do not think I will zipline again. I was proud of myself for doing it, but once was enough. Well, if L.B. was there, maybe…

  3. Thank you for sharing your adventures and family moments! You’re an awesome mom! I flew on an airplane for the first time to go with my family to Disneyworld! That was a terrifying experience for me. So happy we did it! But unfortunately, had to go home the same way:(

  4. Highlight of trip last year to Maui was zipline adventure! We both loved it. Especially liked the longer (half mile) line that was so high. (We went over to Pahilo Ranch?) Don wasn’t so sure about going but was really glad afterwards. You are a really fun storyteller to read. Thanks for sharing.

    • You guys are so brave! I think that is the big one. I do not think I could have managed that one… not even for a pretty face! Thank you for the compliment about my writing. It is very much appreciated!

      Jenni

  5. I am proud of you! You are a great mama!! If he ever questions your love for him you have a great story to prove it to him:)

    • Thanks Amy, you would have done the same. And you probably would have done it without the influence of a hunky stranger. It was fun! I do not ever need to do it again!

      I am very grateful to you this morning for taking the time to leave such beautifully sweet comments. Thank you!

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