Jumping Off A Cliff

I jumped off my first cliff this past weekend. At 33 years young, it was a manageable leap from about 5 or so feet up. (Can I just say it feels higher when you are 5'8") I definitely have jumped off higher surfaces into water (tops of two-story docks, high-dives, rope swings, etc.) but I was certainly younger and less conscious of heights and pain, and goodness knows I wasn't doing it with a 2- and 5-year-old!

There is something extremely terrifying about rock cliffs, which I think is perfectly natural. I take no pleasure in watching cliff diving. Percy Priest is basically an enormous limestone and granite quarry that has sheer cliffs along most edges. The rock striations are beautiful to observe and the erosion over time has left easily navigated stairs for climbing up to many sheer ledges that mostly teenagers and twenty-somethings leap off. Our location was more the 13 and under spot. It doesn't hurt that someone loved this spot so much they brought out concrete cinder blocks and concrete to make climbing easier. (Who does that?) Seeing all the other life-jacket-clad kids jumping watched by parents floating in a supervising flotilla of boats made the spot seem more reasonable than most.

I'm not sure how I rationalized that the kids and I MUST try this, but there wasn't a moment's hesitation from  them so in the water we went. Once the three of us navigated up to the rock shelf I figured then was a good time to go over some rules: 1). don't jump without my eyes on you, and 2). jump FAR, running start if necessary. Roland and I went first, holding hands. Aria - amazingly as she's fearless - actually waited for me to climb back up and go with her. And repeat. After awhile Roland didn't need to jump with me, just waited till I gave him the green-light, and Aria found a lower cliff she could navigate herself.

At one point I watched an older Dad get coaxed on by his boys to jump off a cliff that was more like 25 feet...I imagine we'll get to that one day when we're all older. The most amazing part about this experience is that every time I jumped in, I was holding either Roland or Aria's hand, and sometimes I wasn't sure who was leading who. It's exciting to experience new things you just assumed you'd cover in your youth (music festivals, cliff jumping, etc.) but instead with your kids. Anyone interested in cliff jumping with us?

Next first-time-ever adventure? Calen and Jennifer's wedding! This is the first wedding Aria, Roland and I have ever been in (besides my own) and I think it's going to be a great time!