Jumping in

I grew up on a lake and my love of water began at an early age.

If there was a body of water, you can be sure that I would find a way to fearlessly jump in it. Never did I have a fear of fish, snakes, sharks or other unseen things lurking under the surface.

Moving to to San Francisco, I found myself surrounded by water. Life gets busy, the weather can be blustery and the excuses for not being in or near the water start to stack up over time. I even bought a wetsuit to brave the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay but after a few icy dips, I ended up donating it. My days of bundling up for a nice walk on the beach became far and few between.

I have always wanted to paddle board. I loved watching people stand-up paddling and gliding across the water. I made promises to myself that I would try it every time I rented kayaks, but I never followed through. I was scared of falling in. I was scared of looking stupid. I was scared of failing. These are some of the excuses that we tell ourselves, right? Let’s look at them another way… Scared of falling in: I can swim. I am wearing a life vest. Scared of looking stupid: To whom? Why do I care? Scared of failing: You might fail, then you get up and you try again.

A few years later, I found myself the proud owner of a cattle dog mix rescue dog. This little gal is best sidekick and always up for any adventure that I was going on. She instantly took to kayaking, and it became a regular weekend activity. One day, I made the decision to finally try a paddle board. My little dog immediately jumped on and was ready to go. I wobbled a bit, even on my knees, but off we went. Eventually, I managed to stand up, still wobbly, but I was determined to keep my balance. If I were to fall in, so would my dog, and it was important to me to make her feel safe and secure. She loved every minute of it. Watching her gaze at sea lions swimming by in the water, birds diving for fish and her being able to walk around the board or lay down comfortably made me so happy. Over time the wobbling stopped, the paddling on my knees stopped and I became a confident stand up paddler. The time it took to for this transition from a wobbly mess to a confident paddler did not take a lot of time, but it required me being patient, consistent and not giving up.

Now there is nothing that fills my soul than spending quality time on the water with my best furry friend. It’s a time of bonding, meditation, stress relief and great exercise.

Why do we put off things? What is the “magic moment” we are waiting for? What would have happened had I never tried and missed out of these amazing bonding moments with my dog?

Time is not waiting for us. Time is not going to slow down and wait for us to catch up. Time might NOT be there for some of us.

So whatever it is that you are waiting to jump in on - START! Lace up those roller skates, take that mountain biking introduction class, book that flight or start writing that book.

It’s never too late. You’re never too old. You just need to take that first step forward.