The Consequences of Age

On Friday, August 21st, I turned 36. I celebrated in a perfectly adult manner. I weeded, took the kids to school (my favorite part), worked out, went out for the evening with Steve, came home and had lemon pie with the kids.  That's what grownups do.

On Saturday, I forgot my age. We went to a family summer party thrown by Cara's orthodontist. It was at a local community pool. They were having a diving contest. The kids begged my to sign up. I obliged. I had to practice. So I did a few forward 1 1/2s and a couple inward dives. My friend was there with her son (in braces) and her camera. She took a few pictures. All the kids were amazed at my abilities. So bolstered by the attention of 20 braces clad children, I decided to do a back dive.

That is when my problems started. Luckily, the contest ended moments before I took the board for my show stopping back dive. So luckily, almost everyone was gone. I told Shauna to get a picture of me so my Dad could see it and see that all his money for diving lessons twenty years ago was not wasted. I stood on the end of the board, took off, and realized that I was quite close. Only seconds later as both legs hit the board from mid-thigh to mid-calf did I realize how close. 

When I came up, the lifeguard was on the edge of his seat, one foot ready for launching, clutching his life-saving device, with a look of horror on his face. He asked if I needed help getting out. I said, "No," and then proceeded to hang on to the edge of the pool, waiting for feeling besides pain to return to my legs, so I could climb out and walk away without falling down. It took about ten minutes. The pain was not gone, but people were staring and I had to get out of there. 

I found Steve. He had seen me hit, but when he saw me come up, decided the little boys needed his help more than I. My friend who took the pictures, also had to take off to help her daughter. I think maybe it was more a case of "I'm pretending I don't know this woman who thinks she is a teenager."

Anyway, the first picture shows me in my 36-year-old glory. The second and third pictures show just how close I was. Mercifully, I did not hit my head or back on the way down. And even more mercifully, Shauna did not get a picture of me actually hitting the board.

So I went home and iced my legs. I hobbled around Saturday night and all day Sunday. It really hurts when I have to bend my knees. In case you haven't noticed, you always have to bend your knees. So I learned a powerful lesson in that instant painful second on Saturday night, I'm not 16 anymore. And Dad, aren't you so proud of all that money you spent for me to learn how to dive?