Last weekend, my sister and brother-in-law, gave our family my favorite kind of gift, an experience. They reserved a day and time to take us to do something that we had never done before. So as a family, eight of us traveled to Sky Drive Arizona for an afternoon of fun and to experience indoor skydiving.
After a brief safety training session, we were dressed in sky diving gear and moved towards the enormous wind tunnel. I will admit that I was a bit nervous. My idea of an adventure is leaving the house without spare clothes for my three-year-old or an emergency drink or snack. As we moved closer to the noisy tunnel, my heart began to pound, some from excitement and some from nerves.
Our eight year old entered first, followed by our six year old. Our kids were fearless. But watching them was difficult for me. Seeing my children being thrown around in the wind as they struggled to hold their pose made my heart race with panic. I was proud of the way they paid attention to the instructor and was amazed to see them floating as the high winds blew the skin on their little cheeks. They loved it!
My hands were already sweaty inside my gloves as I watched my kids in a simulated free fall in the vertical column of air, when I realized it was my turn. The instructor motioned for me to place both feet on the open doorway to the tunnel.
When I felt the pressure from the air on my first foot, something in my non-adventurous body pulled back. I took a step backwards as the instructor beckoned me in with a hand gesture. My feet stayed planted and I shook my head. He motioned to me again and I took a deep breath as I thought of my brave kids watching me. I took a step forward, secured my arms to my chest and stepped inside.
Immediately, the pressure from the air seemed to take my breath away. Even with the goggles and helmet, you can feel the strength of the wind on your face. It made me forget to breathe. You have to get your body in just the right “U” position in order to float. Sudden movements will cause you to flip and spin. I felt completely out of control of my own body.
I stared into the eyes of my instructor with complete dependency as I grasped his hands with claw-like grips. I was beginning to panic. As he pried one hand away from me, he gave me hand instructions of what to do.
Relax and breathe. I tried my best to follow but found myself pointing towards the door. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest and could hear its rapid beating even over the noise of the wind tunnel. I begged him with my eyes, please take me to the door even if my minute is not up.
He led me to the door and my turn was over. I walked with shaky legs over to the bench where my family was clapping. I sat down and worked on preparing for my second turn. The second turn was better for me. I had more mind over matter. “I can do this!” It was a great sense of accomplishment.
Experiencing the wind tunnel is like nothing I have ever done before. It requires concentration, relaxation, and controlled breathing. The instructor helps you to get in the correct body position while you try to remember to breathe in the vertical column with wind speeds up to 120 mph. It really pushed me to challenge myself to do something that I didn’t think that I could do.
Our boys want to know if we will jump out of a plane next time. Adrenaline junkies.
Edited by Jody Smith