Jamie Gardner
The things we do for our children
It wasn’t too long ago that I shared with you a story about coaching my son Jacob’s baseball team. Coaching was not necessarily something I aspired to do again, especially with my schedule. However, it worked out and I had a great time coaching again.
Jacob, age 7, is easy to do activities with. He likes baseball or anything sports related. My eldest on the other hand is my daredevil and he tends to get me involved in activities that I feel will send me to meet my Maker sooner rather than later. You see unlike me, Cole, age 12, does not suffer from acrophobia. What is acrophobia? It is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. I get uncomfortable climbing to the top of a 10ft. ladder.
Cole and I both love roller coasters and for some strange reason, coasters have no bearing on my phobia. However, there is one coaster that Cole and his aunt, Lynn, did last year that scared me, and I was just a spectator. They were basically strapped in a harness, which was connected to cables, and hoisted 300ft. in the air and then released to swing back and forth over concrete, buildings and a large pond. The ride is called the World’s Largest Sky Coaster and is located in Kissimmee, Florida.
During the recent Thanksgiving holiday our family planned a cruise to the Bahamas. We made stops in Nassau and Coco Cay (or Little Stirrup Cay), Bahamas. Before I continue with this story let me ask…did you know that there are 700 islands in the Bahamas?
At Nassau we got off the boat for a few hours and went to some of the shops and the Straw Market since some of our group had never visited the capital city. The street peddlers and taxi drivers were annoying as usual. I had several ladies ask if they could braid our hair. I started to tell them to braid my hair just to find out how they would react.
The next day we arrived at one the most beautiful places I have ever visited, Coco Cay. God did not hold back when he made Coco Cay. This small island is owned/leased by the cruise company and is uninhabited. The island has a few buildings and bath houses, but other than that it is like being stranded on a deserted island. Of course the cruise line has activities such as jet-skiing, an aqua park, snorkeling, scuba diving, a 40ft. inflatable water slide and parasailing. Did I mention parasailing? This activity immediately captured Cole’s attention. In his mind what could be better than strapping yourself to a cable and a parachute on the back of a perfectly good (and moving I might add) boat and hold on tight as you are launched 300ft. off the boat into the air? He was excited about the idea of going 300ft. in the air while being pulled by a speed boat. Me, not so much.
It was a perfect 80 degrees on the island and we had a great time enjoying the crystal-clear blue ocean water, aqua park and huge water slide for hours. However, Cole kept coming to me and asking, “Can we go parasail!!!????, Please!!!!”
I guess I was hopeful he would forget due to the fact that I knew this trip would require that my minor child would need to be accompanied by an adult. Then I thought to myself, “I’ve got it! My wife, Amy, can go strap herself onto the back of a moving boat and be launched 300ft. in the air with Cole.”
I almost got away with it! When we were signing up for parasailing, Amy decided she did not want to go on the adventure this trip. Great! My best reverse psychology attempts had failed miserably. It would have to be good old dad to go with the daredevil this time. So away we went into the deep blue waters of the Caribbean in a speed boat.
The driver and assistant instructed us to get into position and they secured us to the parachute and in a few moments my feet left that back of that perfectly good boat and into the air we went. Cole laughing the entire time and enjoying the trip. Me, not so much. Especially when the 300ft. cable extended all the way out and went tight. It felt like someone had shot us out of a cannon and I think I left my stomach at about 150ft. Needless to say I was happy to have my feet back on the boat after the 10 minute ride.
Cole had a blast. Me, not so much. Would I do it again? Probably, but isn’t it amazing what we will do for our children?
Cole and I both love roller coasters and for some strange reason, coasters have no bearing on my phobia. However, there is one coaster that Cole and his aunt, Lynn, did last year that scared me, and I was just a spectator. They were basically strapped in a harness, which was connected to cables, and hoisted 300ft. in the air and then released to swing back and forth over concrete, buildings and a large pond. The ride is called the World’s Largest Sky Coaster and is located in Kissimmee, Florida.
During the recent Thanksgiving holiday our family planned a cruise to the Bahamas. We made stops in Nassau and Coco Cay (or Little Stirrup Cay), Bahamas. Before I continue with this story let me ask…did you know that there are 700 islands in the Bahamas?
At Nassau we got off the boat for a few hours and went to some of the shops and the Straw Market since some of our group had never visited the capital city. The street peddlers and taxi drivers were annoying as usual. I had several ladies ask if they could braid our hair. I started to tell them to braid my hair just to find out how they would react.
The next day we arrived at one the most beautiful places I have ever visited, Coco Cay. God did not hold back when he made Coco Cay. This small island is owned/leased by the cruise company and is uninhabited. The island has a few buildings and bath houses, but other than that it is like being stranded on a deserted island. Of course the cruise line has activities such as jet-skiing, an aqua park, snorkeling, scuba diving, a 40ft. inflatable water slide and parasailing. Did I mention parasailing? This activity immediately captured Cole’s attention. In his mind what could be better than strapping yourself to a cable and a parachute on the back of a perfectly good (and moving I might add) boat and hold on tight as you are launched 300ft. off the boat into the air? He was excited about the idea of going 300ft. in the air while being pulled by a speed boat. Me, not so much.
It was a perfect 80 degrees on the island and we had a great time enjoying the crystal-clear blue ocean water, aqua park and huge water slide for hours. However, Cole kept coming to me and asking, “Can we go parasail!!!????, Please!!!!”
I guess I was hopeful he would forget due to the fact that I knew this trip would require that my minor child would need to be accompanied by an adult. Then I thought to myself, “I’ve got it! My wife, Amy, can go strap herself onto the back of a moving boat and be launched 300ft. in the air with Cole.”
I almost got away with it! When we were signing up for parasailing, Amy decided she did not want to go on the adventure this trip. Great! My best reverse psychology attempts had failed miserably. It would have to be good old dad to go with the daredevil this time. So away we went into the deep blue waters of the Caribbean in a speed boat.
The driver and assistant instructed us to get into position and they secured us to the parachute and in a few moments my feet left that back of that perfectly good boat and into the air we went. Cole laughing the entire time and enjoying the trip. Me, not so much. Especially when the 300ft. cable extended all the way out and went tight. It felt like someone had shot us out of a cannon and I think I left my stomach at about 150ft. Needless to say I was happy to have my feet back on the boat after the 10 minute ride.
Cole had a blast. Me, not so much. Would I do it again? Probably, but isn’t it amazing what we will do for our children?
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