In the Air

“Guess what we are going to do when we are on vacation this summer?”  I told my mom excitedly when she took the phone from my dad.  After 38 and a half years of being my mother, I wonder if she is really ever surprised at the ideas and notions that transpire after such statements.  

I ignored the pause and charged forward with enthusiasm.  “We are going hang gliding!”

“I am sure you will enjoy that,” my mom commented as we both knew that she would stay on the ground and hopefully serve as photographer.  

How different my dad’s reaction was to the idea.  He chuckled and commented that, although hang gliding was not exactly on his bucket list, he was ready to give it a go!

Yin and Yang

The differences between my parents can be quite striking and yet, it is this difference that allowed my brother and I the freedom and support to be our own people and dream our own dreams.  

My daughter is beyond excited.  “I thought we weren’t going to do that until I turned 16?” she commented as we chatted about the idea last night.  

“That is sky diving.  We are doing that when you turn 16 and I am… *gulp* 45.  This is hang gliding.  It is like flying on a big kite.”

A huge smile crossed her face.  It is outdoors, involves her body, and it is an adventure… all the things she loves best!

It appears that my daughter and my dad will be taking to the air waves strapped to a wonderfully colorful hang glider this summer.  After a bit of research, I am not sure that I will be able to join them – I will make a call to find out for sure, but… if I can’t it is okay.  There will be another time and another place.  I have always wanted to try hang gliding – to be up in the air with the birds and the clouds… *sigh*  what perspective.  I wonder just how differently everything looks from that point?  Hang gliding isn’t on my bucket list… well, to be honest, there is nothing on my bucket list.  But, as I told my dad, if the opportunity presents itself… I am there!!

Fingers crossed The Exception will be flying high in just over a month!  Unlike my daughter who loves everything physical and outside, I thrive on seeing things from different angles and perspectives.  I so would love to have a bird’s eye view of the world altered only by the sun streaming through the glider and the humidity of the air.