Skydiving

This past Sunday, October 10th, some of my friends and I went Skydiving, at Chattanooga Skydiving Company, a place I highly recommend for a professional, safe experience in a gorgeous landscape.  

The thing is, skydiving is not something I had ever thought I would do.

The reason I decided to try skydiving starts with the scariest thing I have to do every year- get a mammogram and pap smear.  My family history is pretty significant including both of my sisters being breast cancer survivors.   This year it was really hard to make myself get these tests.  There is nothing so desperate feeling like hugging that mammogram machine while it takes a scan.  And my grandmother had uterine cancer.   I am thankful for the tests don't get me wrong.  It's just scary.  I decided if my results were all clear I would go skydiving to celebrate.  

Why skydiving?  First, it is something I had told myself I would never do.  I hate the feeling of freefalling, I don't jump off of tall stuff, and I don't like kayaking off waterfalls either over a certain height.  I know several people who have tried skydiving, and when they have posted about it on social media I've shook my head and said, nuts, but otherwise didn't find it interesting.  

However, earlier this year, I started getting skydiving mishap videos suggested by Youtube, I guess because I like watching kayak carnage videos.  I kept watching more and more. The skydive videos all end well, they aren't snuff videos, but it struck me that it's a lot like kayaking, for instance everyone waiting on the plane to jump out like waiting in an eddy above a scary rapid.  And once in flight, if something goes wrong, they have to methodically deal with it, like we kayakers do once we're in a rapid.  I realized it was becoming something I wanted to do. 

I asked some friends if they were interested and Kenny and Lori were the first to say 'Yes!'.  It was becoming more real. Lori suggested Chattanooga area so we would be in the mountains/lake scenery.  Making the reservation online was simple but it felt like when I mailed the form for taking whitewater kayaking lessons in 99 - scary.  We initially were going on October 3rd but it was rained out so we moved it to October 10.  I remember feeling so relieved when it was rained out lol.  

The night before the jump, I had a hard time sleeping.  Once I woke up having dreamed we had done the jump and then realizing no, that was not true.  Driving up there was surreal as well.  Then we waited a few hours.  Reasons being, they had other people who were rained out the previous Sunday like us, and a 2 hour delay that morning for fog.   But it was a clear, sunny, warm, gorgeous day.  There were six of us - me, Kenny, Lori, Peggy, Tammy, and Brittany.  I could not have done this without friends doing it with me!

It helped me to see other people who had never tried skydiving waiting to fly, and their reactions after.  Nobody looked like a super-hero, just ordinary people, and everybody was smiling. 

Kenny, Lori, and I were on the same flight.  We had each bought the package with a videographer etc.  I did this in part because I was thinking I would be terrified and never do it again, so might as well get it recorded lol.  I was first on the plane with my tandem instructor, so I would be last off.  We were packed in tight, in a plane that was long with benches we straddled, but not tall enough to stand up in.  There was also a student and instructor with us, so 8 people total. The flight up took maybe 15 minutes.  We had bought the 14k feet jump, they have a taller one.  When they opened the door, I had a crazy feeling.  I went from being scared to go out, to feeling compelled to go out.  I watched as my friends went out and we moved forwards.
When it was my turn, my legs dangled over the edge of the door and my instructor said something like, 'ready, steady, spaghetti' and then we tumbled into space.  It was the most awesome feeling, weightless, incredible.  It didn't feel like falling.  It felt like flying.  I've heard it described a few times as 'bliss' and that is the perfect word for it.
When my instructor popped the canopy open, it wasn't as harsh as I had been warned by friends.  It felt like we shot up in the sky, but I believe that was just deceleration.  Anyway, we flew around like a big old hawk.  I got to steer the canopy, Lake Nickajack was below us and beautiful.   My instructor asked me if I liked spinny rides at the fair and I said yes, so he started swooping us around.  That got my stomach a bit lol.  All too soon we were landing and I held my legs up as we landed on our butts. 

I was exhilarated and ecstatic and wanted to go again.   Peggy, Tammy, and Brittany went and I was able to watch them land.   We had a celebratory shot of apple whiskey, then went to eat Mexican food in South Pittsburg.  What an awesome day! 

I remember watching the guys who take the tandem students up.  They go on jumps multiple times a day; and I thought, "These guys have a job scaring people, like working at a haunted house".  And then, after I finished my jump, I thought, "these guys have a job making people happy.  They get to see all the fear and worry melt away to joy".  

And yeah, I am going to go again, even looking into what it takes to do the AFF Program. 

Raw footage of my skydive:   

 

Lori asked me what our next adventure is going to be.   I think maybe gliders.  There's a place in Chilhowee.