JUMP

1) to spring clear of the ground or other support by a sudden muscular effort; leap
2) to rise suddenly or quickly
3) to move or jerk suddenly, as from surprise or shock
4) to obey quickly and energetically; hustle
5) to be full of activity; bustle

Imagine waking up on a sunny Sunday morning in September to have your friends tell you, "get up -- we are going BUNGEE JUMPING! HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!" You would definitely be surprised, right?!

Thankfully that didn't happen to me, but I did have to keep that secret from my best friend for almost a month! 

Normally the words "bungee jumping" don't come up in normal conversation, but you know how it goes when the one thing you aren't supposed to say is always on the forefront of your mind. I was constantly suppressing my word vomit. It got so bad one that one time that I squealed to Jo, "Oh my goodness I just have so many fun things coming up in my life -- I am so excited!" And with a puzzled look, she replied "That's really awesome Shann?"

The bridge we jumped from is a three hour drive south in Amboy, WA. The excitement and nervousness was almost palpable in my car as I drove down with my co-pilot. And to add to the stress, I had to listen to the Seahawks game on the radio while we drove (although they did win!).

We finally arrived, only to find out that the other half of our group was running late. When all was said and done, I ended up waiting at the bridge for an hour! Talk about sweaty palms, let me tell you. The good news was that someone ended up jumping ahead of me so I had the chance to see the process. Call me crazy, but that totally calmed my nerves. Getting to see exactly what I was going to get into helped to take the "unknown" out of the situation. 

Once my group arrived, I was elected to jump first. Afterwards I was first asked "how was it?!" and my answer was "really weird". And while I will still stick to that answer, I will also add -- it is really hard to explain. I don't feel that I was all that afraid to jump and I am not afraid of heights. Truly, my fear was that statistics wouldn't be in my favor...but they were! 

Have you had those dreams when you feel like you are falling and it jolts you awake? Well that is the closest thing I can compare the feeling to, without the waking up part. I am sure this isn't making any sense...so here is a video: 



I still cannot believe I did it but I am glad I did and I would do it all over again. Happy surprise birthday Jo.! Here's to another year of friendship! I look forward to whatever next adventures come our away, as we JUMP in!