Conquering Fear

Yesterday after work, the opportunity presented itself for me to break free of the chains of fear and doubt that have gripped me for sometime regarding a certain outdoor activity. This is going to sound really silly, but I have long been afraid of skateboards. Not skateboards themselves of course, but getting on one. The last time I tried to ride one was IN our apartment after Layne and I first got married. I was on the carpet. I was merely standing on the thing trying to get my balance when it slipped out from under me and I face planted on the floor and the board shot out behind me denting the wall. I took about a 4 year hiatus from going anywhere near the thing until several months ago when I attempted standing on it again while holding onto Layne for dear life. It looked about as natural as elephants on ice. And there you have it, my skateboard history...until yesterday. For Layne's birthday he ordered a new custom skateboard and it arrived yesterday afternoon. Since it was brand new, it was in the house and I decided to play around with it on the carpet in our loft under close supervision and with Layne guarding the walls and the computer. After about 20 minutes of that (figuring out how to stand on it and figuring out which foot to push with), I took it downstairs to the wood floor for a test run. Another 15 minutes of practice on the wood & tile, and Layne convinced me to take it outside for a real road trial.

Sometimes our biggest hurdles in life are in our own heads. I've been convinced since my earliest recollections that I am the Queen of Clumsy, and though all logic told me I had no business being on a skateboard, I couldn't allow myself to be beaten by this "toy". So, I disregarded logic and reason for the greater good; overcoming my fear and doing something I didn't think I could do. At that, I cast my tentativeness to the side, threw caution to the wind, and mounted the beast. The rest is history. I rode outside for about half an hour, and even went down our steep driveway twice! I knew that without proof, my family wouldn't believe me (especially after that Christmas morning when we were all taking turns on Dane's wave board), so here is video evidence of my triumph! Granted, I look like a complete hack, but BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE HUMAN WILL!



I actually ended up having a lot of fun! Layne says I'm a natural (which is probably a tidy little way of saying he was surprised that I hadn't cracked my melon on the pavement yet). After slaying my dragon, Layne and I celebrated by going to the store to buy some Pineapples. They are so good right now, we have been going through like 2-3 a week. Afterwards we watched the big air competition on the opening night of the X-Games where we saw some of the biggest skate board wipe outs in history. I'm just glad we watched that AFTER my first attempt, otherwise I doubt I could have summoned the courage. Here's to conquering fear and trying something new!