Let Go or Be Dragged

While we are awaiting the election results, here is a story I may or may not have shared before.  I searched previous years' blogs and found myself in a world of hospitals and memory loss and a funny 4-year-old Benja...I couldn't unearth this story, so apologies if this is a repeat.  

When I was a teenager, I loved to water ski.  The problem was, I learned how to get up on the water skis, after many many many failed attempts, but I never really got the hang of stopping  Basically, I would just keep on skiing until I crashed.  Imagine me falling, but still holding tight to the ski rope, being dragged until the driver noticed my delimma.  It was when I discovered that water can actually feel like it burns or cuts, it can leave a mark.  Powerful stuff.  Fast forward to adulthood.  Thom's parents used to have a Lake of the Ozarks house.  Before they sold it, they invited us for one last visit.  At one point, water skiing was occurring.  I thought, even though it had been decades, it was probably like riding a bike, your body remembers how to do it.  So, up I went water skiing.  Luckily, it WAS like riding a bike, and I had a good time proving myself to Josh, Sam, and Kate, my nephews and niece.  As I began to tire, I realized I could just drop the rope and sink (in my mind at least, gracefully into the water.)  It was a revelation.  I did not actually have to injure myself to stop the activity.  So empowering.  Recently, I found a magnet that says, "Let Go or Be Dragged" which so perfectly reminded me of that important lesson that I have hung it on the fridge.  When Zibbi sees it, she requests I retell this story.

On the same trip, the water in the lake was warm, like bath water warm, as it had been a hot summer.  There was a rope to swing off of and drop into the lake.  After, witnessing Josh, Sam and Kate doing this, I decided I needed to give it a go.  Unfortunately, as I flew over the water, my hands refused to let go of the rope and ended up back on the dock.  So, I guess the let go or be dragged lesson was provisional...

Also, on that trip, we decided to swim out to a buoy.  Josh and Sam immediately took the lead.  Kate and I lagging a bit behind.    Suddenly a HUGE catfish appeared on the water's surface. (It would be useful here to mention that lakes in Missouri are mud bottomed, so you can not see any fish below water.)  Seriously, this catfish was bigger than my toddler at the time.  Kate, wisely, exclaimed, "Think of chocolate chip cookies..."  How does she know me so well?  Somehow, even with the humongous fish spotting we made it to the buoy and back again.  I was pretty sure we'd had a good 2-3 mile swim.  My father-in-law informed me it was probably 1/4 of a mile.  The real point is we survived that catfish.  Just barely.