So you heard it a hundred times from your mom... And you were probably surprised when it slipped out of your mouth as you explained to your kids about life...
"If your friends all jumped off a cliff, does that mean you would do it too?" Normally I would hope or expect my kids to say "No way!'
Um... After today my answer is "Hell yes, jump!"
And I would expect nothing less from my boys.
Let's back up a bit…last week Dylan (15) called and asked to go with a group of kids to "swim" a bunch of boys… in a quarry. Hmm, I wasn't feeling it. To be honest a story flew into my head about a boy swimming in a abandon area, going under, getting caught on a fence under water and never being seen again. Deep breath… am I going to let my fear of what may happen squelch some life altering adventure for my son? Was I scared to pieces when he said "Can I go to a quarry and swim?" Yes. Did I ask a ton of questions? Yes. Did I let him go? Yes.
It's tough as parents to let kids do adventurous things. But it's all part of letting them go a bit and letting them mature and grow up. And maybe even make mistakes... And learn.
This is what the quarry looks like empty!
My Dylan is usually extremely responsible. So I trusted him. He vowed to check it out and check in with me. And he did. He followed through, checked in with me and did everything as asked. That my friends, is how you build trust. And I am so proud of that, proud that at 15 he gets it. I could feel unsure about him doing something at first and by him showing me I could trust him and by him following through on his words by his actions I felt totally at ease and secure with my choice to let him go and never thought or worried at all while he was gone. I trusted him and he earned my trust!
When he came home he was floating on a cloud of adrenalin. I thought "This is exactly the kind of high I want me kids to know." A natural self induced rush from adventure and accomplishment! Not some false substance induced high.
It turned out that along with "swimming" there was some cliff jumping that went on... That is where I didn't mind a lack of comunication and was happy that I didn't know that part until Dylan was standing Infront of me, safe.
So when he asked to take ME to see him cliff jump, of course I said "Yes!" And immediately grabbed for the good camera and towels.
Little did I know what I was getting into...
So we parked...got out... Walked to a gate. There were no "No swimming" signs and no "No trespassing" signs so we walked on. Dylan was so excited he could hardly wait, but he did. He waited patiently for me and asked if I needed help with my camera or anything else. Yes, I know... He's a keeper.
So we were off...
Walked for a bit and came to a clearing and Dylan shouted "This is it!" My heart sank. I thought, "There is no way my Ryan at eleven years old is going to do this"... Even with a life jacket." It was a looonnggg way down... Way higher than the high dive and totally unknown territory under the water. Must be 30-40 feet down. I took a deep breath. Asked more questions to make sure this was the exact spot a few gazillion kids had jumped before.
Steep climb to jump again!
So with life jackets on, Dylan paced back and forth a few times and than screamed "Here goes nothing!" This is one of those moments you see your kids nature in it's most raw state... Dylan hit the water with lightening speed, popped to the surface as he screamed "That's a long a$$ drop!" "Jump, Ryan!"
Ryan was next up... He looked at me and said "How brave is this, mom?" I told him that it is one of the bravest things I had ever seen his brother willfully do.
That's all took... Ryan backed up and was off the cliff on the count of two before I could even count to three! Popped to the surface laughing and swimming towards his brother shouting "Oh my God, that was awesome!" And "Let's do it again!"
That's when I realized I should of brought my suit! Next warm day... My turn!
What an amazing day! A sure fire way to advocate team building and overcoming fear in a controlled environment. So pleased to see my two boys who fight like brothers, fist bumping and cheering eachother on. They helped eachother and cared for eachother and that made me smile!!!
So get up and get out! Find things that challenge you and your kids to go outside of their comfort zone. Life is not always comfortable. But if we choose to experience fear and challenge ourselves in a somewhat controlled way... When life throws you a curve ball, you will be able to dig in and crack that sucker out of the park! I hope when my boys face any adversity they will think to themselves "I got this... Heck, I jumped off a humassive cliff!"
Days later my boys are still bubbling with excitement!
Our day ended with the best fries in town at Hotdog heaven.
http://www.hotdogheavenohio.com
Get up and get out!
Find your adventure and breathe deep!
And as Mark Twain stated so well...
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
If you need some motivation to inspire you, this book is a fabulous place to start! Full of greatness! I must have picked it up to read a hundred times!
Www.lairdhamilton.com
Enjoy this glorious day!
All my best,
Celeste xo
Celeste m. Music cafe: of course...
We own it!
Www.iTunes.apple.com
