Skydiving (February 17, 2008)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (breath) AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhOooooooooooooooMyyyyyyyyGoddddddddd!
Hurdling towards the earth from 14,000 feet, icy cold air blasting up through my nose and mouth, I can feel my cheeks go flubbity flub. I realize my eyes are closed and I force myself to open them. Soon we are approaching the dense cloud cover and I brace myself for impact knowing full well it is not in solid state. I see a halo with colors of the rainbow and wonder if I am hallucinating from the lack of oxygen at high altitude, or perhaps I am dead and in heaven (fat chance on the heaven bit). We break through the clouds and no sooner than when I see the ground brown and green the dive master pulls the chute. We slow our descent to a near standstill much like my favorite part of an airplane landing. It is that moment when the pilot cuts the engine, and for a brief second the aircraft glides, suspended in mid air and time, before the landing gears face the harsh resistance of the runway.
The parachute descent was so peaceful compared to the chaotic free fall I felt a zen bliss overtake me until we had to come in for the landing. Once again our speed gathered and the ground could not run towards us any faster. Thoughts of a nasty grass burn ran through my head, and I couldn’t help but scream as we hit solid ground. The dive master unbuckled my harness and when I tried to get up my legs were like jello. I stumbled and laughed with Elizabeth as we walked back to our friends waiting. On my face was the biggest smile; I was glad to be alive.
Hands down the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. A sense of dread was with me during the ascent and I grappled with the idea of backing out. When we reached diving altitude my legs were like lead, yet as I tried to walk to the hatch they wobbled uncontrollably. I thought that was a bad sign and kept saying to the instructor I couldn’t jump, but he paid no attention and made me do it anyways. I was glad he made me do it, and relieved I didn’t lose bladder control.