It's my birthday weekend....born on September 3rd....nine months after a particularly celebratory New Year's. Labor Day really was labor day for my mom. But, OMG!!! I'm turning 65!! Time to sign up for Medicare. REALLY???? I don't feel like 65.
When I was a kid, 65 looked a whole lot different than it looks now....at least, that's my memory, limited though it may be. Women wore "house dresses." No way am I wearing a house dress! No one dyed their hair much less got their eyes done or even worse...a FACELIFT! Now, I'm waiting for the stock market to accelerate so I can get rid of my wattle. Not even kidding here.
One of my most memorable birthdays happened two years ago. I went with two of my kids, Chelsea and Justin, and Matt, my son-in-law, to Matt's family's house on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster, Virginia.
Justin dared me to water ski. Oh no...not going to happen. Decades of knee problems followed by a hip replacement. When was the last time I water skied? Probably in high school on the lake I grew up on in Florida. That was a main form of entertainment in my family....countless gatherings at our home. Always, my father was behind the wheel of the outboard, after rolling the makeshift trailer to the shore. My brother, sister and me all slaloming behind the boat together. Knee injuries forced me to end the fun since it would hurt and swell every time. Sad to say, I had to be content to watch my more talented siblings.
But, believe it or not, I start mulling it over. Maybe, I could. I'm trying to convince myself I wouldn't end up in an emergency room. Could it be different now? I have been working out and doing strength training almost every day. Still....I don't think so. Too scary.
Chelsea also mentions it. "I'm thinking about it," I mutter under my breath. OMG! Did I just say that? Am I crazy?
Saturday morning, we eat our bagels and drink our coffee. Matt starts taking the life vests down to the boathouse. Oh boy, we are really doing this. They ask me to ski again. "Okay, if I ski, you have to play bridge with me." Deal!
It's 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, water smooth as silk. We drive out to a deeper part of the river. Matt adjusts the skis, I put on the life vest. This is still surreal to me but I am now absolutely determined to go through with it. Justin and Chelsea ask if I'm nervous. "A little." Actually, I'm just short of terrified.
I jump in the water. Wow...not nearly as cold as I expected. I struggle to put on my skis but I do it. I take the rope and wait for the slack. "Okay, hit it!" I yell. The boat lurches; I barely make it out of the water and let go. I want to try again. This time, I got a little further out of the water. "One more time!" I swear I'm going to hang on for dear life it it kills me!
I'M UP!!!!! Whoa...these are muscles I haven't used in a long time. But, I'm standing. The kids are screaming, "Go, Mom!" I laugh and start moving back and forth in the wake. I straighten up. Do I dare go outside the wake? Yes. I'm going to do it. I DID IT!!! I'm leaning low kicking up the spray from the skis. Just like the water show at Cypress Gardens! (Non-Floridians may need to Google that...lol)
I cross the wake to the other side. CRASH! And that was it and it wasn't half bad. The kids told me I looked like a pro! No camera, though. Bummer. I'll just have to get back on that saddle...maybe for my 70th!
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