Skydiving update!

Wow. I don't even know where to begin! That was absolutely the craziest, most insane thing I have ever done! So Megan and I weren't even sure if we'd be able to jump that day because the weather forecast wasn't so hot, literally. When Saturday rolled around it was a little muggy, but very cloudy. So we called Skydive Snohomish around 1:30 to see if we should make the trek out there to jump, and they say "Come on out and we'll hope for the best". That was reassuring.

Anyway, we drove out there and went through the necessary paperwork. The woman who gave us the paperwork to fill out said she always tells first time jumpers that the paperwork is the scariest part, and let me assure you it was terrifying. We had knowingly agree to all sorts of scary statements to the affect of "your parachute is a human-created device and it may malfunction and not open" and "your instructor may be negligent which may lead to your injury or death." Pretty scary stuff. But I completely understand, these skydiving companies have to cover their butts in case something does go wrong that they couldn't have honestly prevented. However their 100% student safety record did a good job of settling my fears.

After the scary paperwork we waited around a little for our training to begin. Megan and I walked out to where people were preparing to skydive and just a bit away from where the small planes actually took off. It was still pretty cloudy but the sun peaked out every once in awhile. Our time came for the group training, which was pretty quick to say the least. We were given a run down of what would happen step-by-step and what we would need to do to make the jump as safe as possible. We got down on our bellies in the grass and practiced the correct free-fall position and also learned how we were supposed to land, which would be on our bottoms.

While waiting for our turns, we were able to watch three other groups make the jump before us. Though we couldn't see much because they were so high, it was kind of unnerving to look up and a bunch of tiny dots floating in the sky above us and realizing those were people. And realizing that that would be me very soon. I made a few calls to my mom and a good friend, you know...just in case : )

Finally our turn came to suit up, board the tiny plane, and get strapped on to our instructors. The plane took off and I was still feeling pretty good, the ground didn't look SO far away. We kept climbing in altitude until we were approximately 13,000 feet up and it was time to go. I watched a few people jump before it came to be my turn. When my instructor said to start scooching toward the door, he practically had to pry my hands off the inside of the plane. He was laughing at me...I was not laughing. I asked him to check that we were really hooked onto each other - as the parachute was attached to his back and not mine. Still laughing, he assured me that we were indeed hooked onto each other. At this point I had to take his word for it because it was our turn to go. We inched up to the edge of the plane, I hooked my legs under the ledge as instructed, took the position, and then everything started to blur together. I remember thinking "what the hell am I doing?" just as we dropped away from the plane and the rush of air hit me like a fist in my face. The first ten or so seconds I was just getting used to what was going on, and probably doing a lot of screaming.

Honestly I didn't like the free fall part too much. I have a hard time equalizing my ears as it is and so I couldn't enjoy the falling sensation over the excruciating pain throbbing in my ears. But once my instructor pulled the parachute and we begin slowly floating down towards the earth, I felt like I was in heaven. I was able to equalize my ears and get rid of the pain, and just look down and all around while we floated. I had never heard such a quiet before in my life. I looked down at my feet and it registered that they were 10,000 feet above the ground, not a feeling I've ever really had before! I can't even find the words to describe this feeling, like a weightlessness combined with the crazy thrill of being up in the air. For moments at a time I would just float along, looking around at the mountains, water, and farmland spreading out beneath me. And then all of a sudden I would remember again that I was literally flying (yes, with the help of a parachute, but flying nonetheless) and I would just start yelling and screaming (my poor instructor's ears!)

Our landing was a little bumpy, and I just layed there on the ground for awhile, registering that I was now safe back on the ground. I felt dizzy and nauseous, but it was all worth it! Finally Megan came over to help me up and we went off. I was sure to call my mom and friend back to let them know I did it...and I survived!

So long story short, I loved it, it was so much more than what I was expecting, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks Megan!!!