Walking the Line

Tuesday, December 28, 2010
They say that every day you should do something that scares you. Because I am scared of a lot of things and generally wimpier than I like to admit, I find this pretty easy advice to follow. Still, some days offer especially scary challenges. Take last Thursday for example.

A good friend is working at a nearby environmental learning center and she offered to take a group of girls for a day of fun at the center. She promised visits to Chickadee Landing where chickadees eat seeds out of your hand and off of the top of your hat; a chance to meet the center's owls and other animals; rock climbing; the center's skylab; and, of course, the infamous ropes course.

Because I was a homeschooled jungle freak, I didn't go on the epic multi-night field trip that all fifth graders at the local public school make to the center. While I am not lamenting my homeschooled-ness, I am saying that when I was ten years old is when I should have overcome my fears of the rope course. (In all honesty I had a chance to do the ropes course when I was fourteen and attended an open house at the center and I totally wimped out.)

So on Thursday I was a 25-year-old scared of the ropes course.

Luckily, the other three girls went ahead of me, I was feel pretty confident as I watched them go around the course, which consists of five segments: a suspension bridge, a single wire with two wire rails, two parallel logs, a single wire, and a single log. Then they got to the end of the course - a zipline which transports you (very quickly) back to the course's starting platform.

Hmm. . . . Not feeling quite so confident now.

Still, I gamely strapped myself in.

It started out just fine.
Ireland, 2005

As you can see, bridges suspended at absurdly high heights do not scare me. (This is the Carrick-a-rede, which is about 600 ft above the ocean below.)
And two parallel logs? Not too bad.
Then we reached the single wire. This is where I wimped out before. But this time I was determined. I set out, cursing both the springiness and length of the wire and focusing on getting one foot in front of the next. 

And I made it! Maybe not raring to go at it again, but pleased to have proven to myself that I can walk the line if need be.

2 comments:

  1. Wow awesome pics and you did great! I would have stopped before it all even started. Brave soul you are. Thanks for stopping by my blog. :-)

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  2. I'm glad you shared the pics! You are fearless. I'm such a wimp when it comes to that kind of stuff. My hear jumps just seeing you on the single wire. Whew!!

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