How did I get here already? I came up with the idea for 30 Days of Turning 30 all the way back in April, but did not mention it to that many people until just before the first of June arrived. Most people suggested I make sort of a mini bucket list so that I would know beforehand what I would be doing each day for the thirty day duration. I considered it, but then decided that with my incredibly unpredictable work schedule, it just was not feasible. And then half the fun this month became waking up every morning wondering what I might do or what might happen. The blog originally was meant to simply detail each day, just a record of what I had done, where I had done it and tag people who happened to be present. But I had a lunch with an old friend of mine just before the month of June began which altered my thinking about how to write the accounts of each day. We were talking about the next film project that I want to put together which involves a great deal of her personal life. And I thought, what courage she has to want to share her story on film. Which made me think about memoirs and what a popular book genre it is because someone tells a personal story that others can relate to and instantly a connection is made. For example, any female who has NOT read FIVE MEN WHO BROKE MY HEART by Susan Shapiro is totally missing out. (And Susan has written and published quite a few other books, just as funny, just as relatable, just as wonderful-look her up, you won't be sorry). But the point is that Susan, or my friend Emily or anyone who shares moments of their reality is willing to allow the world take a peek into their lives, whether it is heroic, disastrous, messy, organized, pain-filled or enlightened. Or all of the above. To me, that felt like the best way to complete 30 Days of Turning 30, to not just check items off of a list, but to share a little bit of my life with everyone who was reading about it. So I hope that besides accomplishing thirty things I had never tried before, I did not put anyone to sleep! For Day 30 I felt compelled to do something fun that again pushed my limits when it comes to my fear of heights. I had conquered parasailing, rode in a helicopter smaller than a Smartcar and CONSIDERED skydiving. Even considering is a big deal for me. Just so we're clear. But I decided that I would spend Day 30 going ziplining in upstate New York. There is a place called Big Bear Ziplines in Hyde Park, New York and I reserved myself a spot on their 2PM tour. On my tour was a lovely couple who had also never tried ziplining before and shared my concerns about heights and falling which bonded us immediately. Our tour guides Rebecca and Kathryn were safe, knowledgeable and just showed us all a great time on each zipline, taking our nervousness into account, especially on the last zipline, totaling 1400 feet in length, reaching up to speeds of 35mph. On the first zipline, I made the mistake of not trusting my harness and trying to hold my weight with my hands the entire way which resulted in some very sore forearms. For the second one, Rebecca and Kathryn reminded me to trust the harness would hold me and just fly down the line. Which I did. And that was when I fell in love with ziplining. Every line was so much fun, as were the Tarzan vines that you use to swing down to the ground at certain points on the course. It is all I can talk about and I am already rounding up a group of people to go back to Big Bear, so I can do it again. I want to thank the whole staff at Big Bear for an amazing Day 30 and having the patience to deal with my nervous anxiety when I climbed up to each zipline platform. I do not know if I can honestly say I've totally conquered my fear of heights, but I am pretty sure that after all the height-related activities this month, I could be on my way. Maybe in time for 40 Days of Turning 40?? I guess we'll see.... :-)
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