Jumping in May

This May we visited my family in Tucson. My brother and his wife and my cousins all go to one of those trampoline parks every Monday for exercise. Before our trip I had told him that my one request was that we jump while I was in town.

They honored my request and we all met up for a night of jumping. I was a little nervous, but I have always loved trampolines and knew in a matter of time I would be confident and jumping like a pro. I've always been a more cautious person, but I like to try new things. This translated into me being willing to do it all along with my family but watching everyone else do it first. My big thing when we got there was flipping into the foam pit. I had to do it. I knew I could do it...but doing it was an all together different thing.

As a child, I could do flips on the trampoline without hesitation! I would land on my feet and do it again. But as a sensible mother and grown up, this proved to be more of a challenge than I guessed it would be.

My sister-in-law patiently waited for me to conquer the flip. I would bounce, bounce, bounce and tell her "count down from 5 and I will do it."  This lasted for about 5 straight minutes until finally I just decided to do it. I was all in. I tucked my chin to my chest and propelled my body forward. I landed in the pit feet first with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. I did it.

Isn't that how life works? We build up enough courage to muster one little flip into a new situation or new challenge. It feels risky and dangerous but we have to do it, going all in, knowing that the outcome will be worth it. All it took was one quick second of bravery and I was in the pit and felt like I had just conquered the world.

I know a trampoline park isn't life altering, but for me, it was a step in the right direction, a reminder that I am able and brave and that I can do hard things.