PARASAILING

I would like to go back to Thursday, April 24. It was the first day that I started my blog, so if you haven't read about it, you can go back and check it out. It was the day our kids in Cebu learned that we were going to adopt them. The first picture you see here is of them looking at a book I sent with photos of our family. Allen and I took a picture of ourselves just minutes after we learned that the kids were told about the adoption. We were very excited and wanted to remember that special day!

Later in the day Allen and I were sitting on the beach reading, snoozing and people watching. All of that was fun, but frankly I was getting tired of all the sitting around and reading. I hate to admit it, but I am a bit of a restless person on occasion and I just wanted to DO something. Reading just wasn't going to cut it today. Luckily, we were right next to some nice Mexican men who were offering parasail rides (for a reasonable price)! I sat watching people take off on their parasailing adventure and began to think that this would be the perfect activity for me! I know that people say it is very dangerous and if you go, never, never parasail in Mexico. Well, to me, there didn't seem to be a problem. I hadn't seen one person crash the entire time I had been sitting there. Actually, it looked quite easy even for the old, overweight and uncoordinated. I mentioned something to Allen, but he was so engrossed in his book that he hardly even knew I was sitting next to him. I finally got his attention and suggested that it would be so fun for both of us to parasail on the same day that we would be talking to our new kids. He wasn't so sure and was perfectly happy sitting in the shade with his book. I guess I pushed it a bit and asked if he would go up to our room to get some money. I had made up my mind to go...with or without him. Being the great guy that he is, he went to our room to get some cash. By the time he got back, I was ready to go! What a fun thing to do on such a memorable day!

Allen grabbed the camera and watched me "lift off" into the sky. I don't think he had any intention of parasailing that day, but when my Mexican friend Pepe started to encourage Allen to also go parasailing, he just couldn't say "no". I'm not sure if Pepe really convinced Allen or if he simply shamed him into going, but when I got back, my dear husband was the next person to climb into the harness. I loved it! I knew that it was probably the one and only time I would ever see him involved in such an exciting (and dangerous) adventure. I'll have to hand it to Allen. He is a good sport and would do just about anything for me. I have the pictures to prove it!

No matter how exciting, stupid, or dangerous our ride was that day, it was something we did together. We got a glimpse of what the world looks like from a birds point of view. It was beautiful! The hardest thing to be sure was the loss of control. Once you lift off, you have no control of the wind, the parachute, the direction you are going or the driver. It means trusting people like Pepe and his crew. How symbolic of our decision to adopt. There are so many things that we can't control and don't know. But in order to experience this adoption adventure to the fullest, we really need to trust God to carry us. It is very freeing to let go of the things we can't control! And, of course it is great to be doing this together.

The next morning we noticed these huge warning signs which were strategically placed as you entered the beach area. We were well aware of the many parasailing pitfalls before our ride, but I'm pretty sure that if we would have seen the signs only a day sooner, we would have taken a walk on the beach instead. Just think what we would have missed!!