Jordan called me from work last week, Excitedly, he asked me to guess what he'd be doing on Tuesday of this week. Knowing he was going to be on vacation, and remembering that it was Jordan who was asking the question to begin with, I knew the sky was the limit. Coincidentally, he announced he would be going skydiving! I asked if I could come and watch and he agreed. I was SO excited for him! He had initially brought up the possibility back when he was 16, although he says earlier. I'm all for people fulfilling their dreams and I was delighted he would scratching one off his wish list.
Tuesday, I packed up Jack and off we went. It's a lovely drive there, about a half hour away from the house, and I highly recommend the scenic route to the highway one. I arrived to find la belle Érika, his girlfriend, waiting there along with my Julia and her boyfriend, Philippe. I looked around while Jack went bananas - it's a new place with tons of new places to pee on, after all! It wasn't long before Jordan came out, looking positively dashing in a red flight suit and black harness. I know you're probably all fed up of hearing me say this by now, but DAYUM! I made some incredibly good looking kids! I asked Jordan whether he was nervous, already knowing the answer. 'No, I'm just excited about going!', he replied, almost jittery with impatience to board the plane. Within minutes, he was called into the building and only minutes after that, out trooped a lot of about a dozen people, who boarded a small aircraft. He turned, grinned and gave us the thumbs up sign before hopping aboard.
The plane took off from a short runway and in the matter of a couple of minutes, we could still hear the plane but it was too high to be seen. We joked, watered Jack and talked some more until suddenly, la belle Érika announced she could see the jumpers. We all looked up to see a smattering of specks in the sky, which became increasingly larger as we stared at them. As we stood there, wondering which one might be Jordan, Julia announced with certainty that her brother was the one with the grey parachute. Now, you all have to understand that these two have a freakish connection. The day I called Julia to tell her about her brother's plans, she told me that she had a vision of parachuters before I even told her where he was going! As I told Érika that day, Jordan and Julia are twins who were born two years apart. As we stood there at a picnic table adjacent to the landing strip, I suddenly heard a loud 'whoosh!' and three single jumpers flew over our heads before landing nearby. The tandem jumpers were a little longer in coming down, probably to ensure they get their money's worth. As they neared the ground, Jordan became easily recognizable ... in the grey parachute. Julia beamed, reminding us all that she had known all along. Jordan and his co-jumper came to a beautiful landing - Jordan's knees barely buckled but that's my Jordan ... anything Jordan has ever tried, he has succeeded at with minimal to no effort. He is his father's son.
After getting unbuckled from the actual parachute, he and his co-jumper headed our way. After I had thanked the other guy for not killing my son (yeah, I really did!), I turned my attention to my son. His cheeks were pink with excitement and his eyes were shining. He jabbered on about how exhilarating it had been, giving us details we couldn't possibly have seen from where we stood on the ground. He left to get rid of his flight suit, returning with his certificate and a request for sponsors ... because now, he wants to take skydiving classes!
After hugs and kisses, the kids all headed off. I walked Jack back to the car and looked up to see them all waving to me from their cars. I was immediately struck by one thought ... I wish Kevin had been there too.
In his excitement, Jordan forgot to pick up his pictures before he left, so the following day, I returned to
Parachute Montréal to pick up the CD. I got a chance to speak to their on-site photographer while I waited. The company has been operating for four years total, two years at the present location. There are between 10-20 flights that take off per day, obviously more on the weekend than on the weekdays. Weekends can find them with as many as 400 parachuters in a single day! Safety-wise, they have never had a crash, no jumper fatalities and injuries have been limited to the extent of sprained ankles and such, mostly to the newer single jumpers, she informed me. I think based on his experience, Jordan would highly recommend their establishment!
The following day, I talked about it on Facebook. I'm not quite sure just how she managed it, but my bestest friend from elementary school, Sandra Sergeant, managed to get me to agree to jump next year, to commemorate our milestone 50th birthdays. "Friends from the beginning of our lives 'til the end!", as she put it. (Insert nervous laughter here!) Funny girl, that Sandy!
Several of my friends have since remarked about how glad they were that their kids haven't wanted to skydive or how scared I must have been. Well, I really wasn't. I was almost as excited as Jordan was! I'm delighted that my kids are all adventurous and for the most part, fearless. I'm all for having dreams but what kind of a life is it if they only remain dreams? Life is meant to be lived, not just dreamt about.
And now, enjoy the slew of pictures of my gorgeous son, Jordan :)
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| The plane |
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| Suit up! |
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| The confident wink |
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| Suited up! |
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| So confident, so Jordan! |
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| Eager to take off |
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All aboard!
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| Which one is MY kid??? |
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| Julia was right - he IS under the grey parachute! |
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| Almost down now ... |
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Could he look ANY happier?
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| Julia makes sure that Jack stays in the shade |
