Hey everybody! I realize I haven't posted anything for a while, but it
is not for lack of wanting to write. There have been some big changes in
my life recently that have taken a bit of time to adjust to. After
much deliberation, Kevin and I decided about a month ago that it was
time for me to make a huge leap of faith and quit my job in order to
stay home with my daughter. I am now working part-time from home, which
has been a huge adjustment and an amazing blessing. There are so many
challenges that work-at-home moms face, but that is a post for another
time. :)
For now, I want to tell you about an incredibly embarrassing experience I had as a teenager. I went with my good friend Stacy to the Spanish Fork swimming pool on a very busy weekend. I have never been a good swimmer and didn't even learn how to do the breast stroke until I was 16. Sad, I know. However, this particular day I wanted to jump off the diving board for the first time in my life so that I could impress some attractive guys who were hanging out at the deep end of the pool. Stacy waited while I made my way over to the diving board area. I didn't consider the fact that even if I pulled off a perfect dive, no guy would be impressed by seeing me doggy paddle frantically back to the edge of the pool.
As I stepped onto the board, I instantly regretted my decision, but there was no way I was going to turn around at that point. I slowly made my way to the edge and stood there for a moment completely paralyzed in fear. I was certain the impatient little kid behind me was going to run up and shove me off at any moment. Finally, I mustered up all of my courage and started to bounce gently on the board while I visualized myself leaping gracefully through the air and slicing through the water like a delicate mermaid.
Unfortunately, what actually happened couldn't be further from graceful and delicate. I prepared to make one final, big jump off the diving board into the water, but I hesitated because I had accidentally jumped backwards and slightly to the side instead of straight forward. As I came down, my left foot slipped off the side of the diving board and I fell. The board scraped my skin all the way up my inner left leg as my right leg buckled beneath me during my awkward and painful descent.
As I continued to slip off the left side of the board, I managed to grab onto it with both arms and wrap my legs around it. Before I knew it, I was hanging upside-down from the board like a frightened monkey. I could hear gasps mixed with stifled laughter all around me, and I realized that I was just making a spectacle out of myself by hanging there. So, I let go and allowed myself to do a full-on back flop into the water.
I considered letting myself sink to the bottom so I could drown in my own mortification, but common sense got the better of me and I doggie-paddled back to the surface as my skinned leg left a trail of blood behind me and the kid who jumped off the board (normally) right after me almost landed on my head. That painfully slow doggie-paddle to the edge of the pool was one of the longest moments of my life. But once I reached the stairs that signified my escape, I was out of there in record time. I may not have impressed those boys, but I bet they remembered me for a while after that!
