TRAPEZE! Life-Happens, you're an inspiration.
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Forbidding that my last two articles should lead anybody to think that we've just been hanging around the hotel room all this time...no, no, no.
Timeline of insanity:
I like to climb things. I don't always sit idly by when we take our son to the park. I climb, swing, hang upside down, you know, like a kid. Only I'm 31.
At 25 I was playing at the park and proclaimed dreamily to my friends, "When I grow up I want to be a trapeze artist." The joke there of course was that at the age of 25 I still didn't consider myself a grown-up, and never would.
Going to a circus while I was pregnant last year made me sad that I couldn't be one of those girls way up high, strong, confident, artistic, athletic. I get pensive and dreamy when I watch figure skating or gymnastics too.
A few months ago my hubby sent me a link to a place he thought I'd like that would be near our new home. How sweet of him, I thought, to be thinking of me, and to be so open-mindedly thinking of FUN stuff!! Then I pushed it to the back of my thoughts because Maryland was a bit in the future for us, and the thought of actually going up onto a trapeze really was a bit scary.
Then Life-Happens, always full of new fun surprises in her unpredictable life, announces that she's taking trapeze lessons! How cool is she?!
How depressed I was at the time, embarking on another PCS, our third move in two years, feeling fat & greasy wearing nothing but a sweatshirt as I read her first announcement.
A tad envious, but I couldn't supress how fearless & fun & think-outside-of-the-box-ish I think she is!
We arrived in Maryland a couple weeks ago. Uncle Sam gave my hubby some extra $$ to get us through our PCS. "Hey John, why don't we look at that trapeze place online again..." So we did. Feeling frisky, we went forward with it. The original plan was that the whole family would go, and he would watch the kids while I went up...but at the last minute John decided to take the class too. Woo hoo!
End of timeline.
Those last few hours leading up to the trapeze lesson, I watched Dana's videos more closely, and some other ones on youtube. I watched the pointed toes, the legs together, the rhythm of the swinging, and I really thought I had a feel for it. But later I realized that watching it on a screen can't completely prepare a person for the actual experience.
It began to rain right as the class was about to begin, so the class was postponed a half hour while all eight of us trapezist-hopefuls and my two children waited out the storm under a tiny awning...and just then my baby decides she needs a breastfeeding session. How awkward was that?! Thankfully I had my cover, and the classmembers cut me out of their conversation circle as I breastfed my daughter in the rain with a trapeze harness belt around my midsection cutting off my circulation. Our little boy was getting cranky too. But finally there was a break in the rain and the class began
Whew.My first go I was a bit timid. Well, that hasn't changed with successive attempts. That first *WHOOSH* off the platform really put my stomach in flip-flops, but I eventually got through it and followed directions the best I could, being nervous and worrying about my children & all. My husband, on the other hand, has an amazing mental ability to focus on important things (like swinging 23 feet in the air on a trapeze). This is a man who can read 1000-page textbooks with no pictures and comprehend every word. He did a really great job on the trapeze. He's good at following directions.
My second day out there (a week later) I finally learned to focus a little better. That made a big difference :b
Two observations that surprised me: That trapeze bar is delightfully grippy. I'm used to the slippery bars at playgrounds, but this bar provides an added measure of confidence. Very easy to hang onto until you're ready to let go. Also, I thought the heights would terrify me, but somehow I don't feel the effect of the height when I'm up there. There's too much to think about. What does terrify me is the rest of the experience
I couldn't help noticing that each time I went up there, I became increasingly anxious. It got to the point that the instructor led me through a breathing exercise before jumping off the platform. I was kinda doing some breathing like that every time anyway (something akin to hyperventilation), so he added an extra element of closing my eyes, counting to three, and that helped calm me down *a little*.The first class only lasted an hour due to the rain so we got a 50% refund. The kids were really well-behaved, especially the second time we went. It was sunny and pleasant, the baby didn't need to breastfeed (she was satisfied with some oatmeal & a sip of water until we were done). Fun, fun, fun. My husband is enjoying this, and he hasn't given me any indication that there will be any end to our trapeze pursuits.
Dana's adventures are always in the forefront of my mind, so I'm really looking forward to learning a back-end split and reversing after the catch....and who knows what else? Fun fun fun!
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