I can’t Help Falling…

Y’all Listen…In my Life, I have always been able to recognize moments of clarity. It might sound a little insane, but really…who are we talking about here? I feel like I have known when things were ending, when they were beginning, and the exact moments that I needed to let go, and fall.

There I was, standing on the wing of a tiny plane hovering high over Jacksonville. That was when I felt it; before the instructor even tapped my shoulder to let me know it was time. I was ready. I smiled to myself, and then I did what some folks have told me made me not the brightest person. I took a step. Just one step and I was in the air, plummeting. The feeling was at some points indescribable. I was falling, I was dancing, I was flying. I was laughing because the wind was so fast and strong that my cheeks were pushed back and making my teeth dry. I tried to lick them, and that made me laugh even harder! My heart was pounding and everything felt like a rush of emotions. This is what I imagine people feel just before they die. I have more than once been in the position where I could die, but I have rarely felt fear. This was no different. I was given the warnings, I signed the waivers, and still..I was unafraid. I embraced the feeling and lived it.

The skydive instructor was amazing and talking me through everything. He told me to look around, take it all in. When we got through the clouds, I screamed LOOK, its my car!! I know that I shouted YEE-HAW at some point (because I’m a little bit Country) , and my ground crew captured that moment on camera as they watched the tiny dot in the sky become me, flying high.

I was wide eyed – laughing and screaming as I watched the patches of grass getting closer. I wasn’t afraid, but I knew that pretty soon I was going to have to land! In real life, you just follow directions from the Man strapped to your back, and in no time at all, you are on the ground again. I am very proud of myself for not only checking something pretty huge off my bucket list, but also there was a bit of dedication to get to it; there were goals met before that plane. It was a culmination of thoughts and emotions, hard work and sweat. I enjoy the feeling of reward when I work hard for something.

I also owe so many thanks and gratitude to my two amazing friends for being there. It was super hot and a long wait for them. They encouraged me, took photos and video that I will have my whole life to cherish. It is always interesting to me to see the people that really come through. The ones that are with you when you are afraid, exhilarated, and everything in between.

Once my Chuck Taylors had touched down, my friends hugged me and cheered me on! We went to get a meal of food, that for me included a cold beer, juicy sandwich and some fries with ranch. Also fried pickles because- YUM! During that first hour, and ok, the rest of the week maybe, I could not stop looking at the pictures and videos and thinking..HELL yes, I did that! I slept over at a friends house that night, and snuggled up with my doggy Waylon feeling like I had just taken on the whole World. If anyone remembers, the air conditioning in my apartment was broken when I leapt from the sky in the dead heat of a Florida Summer.

While I was busy falling from the sky, I was also falling in Love. I didn’t really know it for sure then, but it was about to become my Fairy Tale. I had met a Man that not only made me smile, but just..made it all different. I knew it the moment I met him that it was something, but I didn’t know just how incredibly my Life would change with him.

That Summer wasn’t all too long ago. I haven’t kept up to date here, and it kills me inside sometimes. I will do the best that I can to check in and share all of my adventures. I can’t wait to bring you into more of what is going on with me. Until then, please tell me the last time y’all fell. Share with me the stories of falling in Love, falling into a new job, maybe even just falling up the stairs! Catch up with you soon, XOXO.