Try Something New
Recently, I was telling Nancy, about our trip to an annual conference that John and I attend. We were out west in the beautiful sunshine of Phoenix, Arizona. Shout out to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, and that area. It was chilly, but the skies were blue, but it got me thinking about a previous conference.
We were down in Florida; I believe it was the Marco Island area. And listen, these conferences are very fancy. I count it a privilege to attend alongside my husband. It's a point of gratitude for me to be able to go and I accompany my husband on the trailing spouse for these events. It's also a very traditional, kind of male-dominated industry. So they do these spouse events and 99% of the people who sign up for them are women. The options always have to do with lots of wine drinking, food tours, ladies who lunch, and fashion-oriented.
But there's always one that's a little bit adventurous or maybe outside the norm. And I really think that trying new things, going outside our comfort zone can be really a growing experience. That was my theory when weeks before the actual conference, I chose my activity, and the activity I chose was kayaking. Now that doesn’t seem like a very big deal. It's a low-impact sport. We kayak on our little pond out back. It should be said that this is a suburban subdivision pond. I do not live on the French Broad River or anything like that. This is gentle kayaking with man-made fountains and gentle breezes.
I know how to kayak, at least I think I do, so I signed up. Fast forward several weeks, and I head out and get on the bus with the other spouses. And I’m alone, meaning no one that I already knew signed up for this particular adventure. No sooner do I board the bus than I feel the strap of my swimsuit under my shirt pop. I started this adventure by asking a complete stranger to reattach the strap of my bathing suit!
When we get to our beachhead for launch, we get our gear on, we get in our kayaks and we headed out. So far so good. I’m in the kayak in the mangrove in our group of about 20 or 25 kayaks. We have guides who are showing us where to go, and all of a sudden I notice the wind’s picking up. Do you know how fast that can happen in Florida? I mean I’ve been on a miniature golf course with my kids when one minute the sun was out and the next minute we were drenched in pouring rain with winds that felt like a hurricane.
And I think the wind is like 20 knots or something all of a sudden. There are waves. But we are secluded in a little cove and it’s really pretty. And then it comes time to head back to shore. We round the corner of this cove towards the shore, and it’s full-on wind in my face. I am paddling with everything I have. Now, granted, I'm not terribly experienced. I paddle on still suburban waters. But I'm a sturdy farm girl and I’ve got some upper arm strength, but I was making zero progress. I see my entire group pass me by. They are all the way to shore. At this point, I look around and I’m the only one left in sight on the pond.
Suddenly, the guide with the camera, the one who has taken all the pictures for us to buy later, comes up beside me. And says “Ma’am…”
Now let me start right there because anybody who starts to sentence to you with “ma'am” is implying some age but I was in no position to object. “Ma'am, I see you're having some trouble. Would you like me to tow you to shore?” I must tell you, as I reported to Nancy when he said that something shifted in me. Suddenly I felt some inner rebellion rise up within me! “I do not need a tow. Yes, I’m sure. Thank you very much.” I said it really nicely but inside of me did not feel nice. It felt this kind of determination. Self-talk saying “You can do this.”
So with all my might, I begin to paddle. Now here was God's provision for me, and I see it as a point of grace. The group behind us that had started like half an hour later, all of a sudden caught up with me. So I'm back in a group of 25 kayakers and we're just giving it all we got. And I get to share this other group of women. I pull my kayak up, and on shore, I'm feeling this enormous sense of accomplishment. I didn't die there in the mangroves, even though there was a minute I thought I would.
And so I pile onto the bus with the other kayakers, heading back to the hotel to get ready for the party that evening. The biggest drawback to all this was that night on the dance floor, I literally couldn't raise my arms over my head. But what was gained by trying something new, something difficult, something unexpected, was a new sense of myself pushing beyond my perceived limitations.
I think there's something to it, looking at the unexpected, because, because of that, there's the reward of determination, of accomplishment of trying something and seeing what you're made of. It turned out that I was made of part strength, part noodle because my arms wouldn’t work very well for the next few days, but in the end, I was really, I was really proud of myself.
So this year, just to bring this around to this year when we were in Arizona, I found myself in the back of a Hummer on the way to the desert to identify cacti. And it was a really fun experience. And, there was a Hummer full of women of a similar age. And we enjoyed fellowship at the top of our lungs because Hummers are loud, but at least I could move my arms the next day!
EPILOGUE: This year’s activity - a catamaran in Biscayne Bay! I’m telling you, these things are fancy!
POINTS OF GRATITUDE
I’m grateful for fancy conferences and being invited to travel along with my sweet husband. It gives me a chance to get to know some of his co-workers better, to learn about his industry, and to stay in super-fancy hotels in warm weather in the bleakest part of the Midwest winter.
And I’m thankful that, that one time in Florida, I had the courage to try something new.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
Do you prefer the familiar or trying something new?
Do you like to be in a group or on your own when experiencing life outside of your comfort zone?
What’s one scary thing you’ve tried and what did you learn from it?