30 Sep 2024 Aim for the sky

By Mary Eggart

Sweating from head to toe and heart pounding, I ever-so-carefully placed my right foot onto the tire of the tiny silver airplane, taking the biggest leap of faith I have ever taken. This was skydiving—an experience that challenged my comfort zone, induced personal growth and gave my daughter and I an adventure we will never forget. 

Most people belong to one of two schools of thought with skydiving: “Why in the world would you want to do that?” or, “that is something I have always wanted to do!” If you are someone of the former school, let me explain. I think most people, especially those who are in the neighborhood of middle age, can identify to some degree.

We have all heard of bucket lists—lists of experiences that we hope to have during our lifetimes. But sometimes life can prevent us from having those experiences; things like finances, children and tightly packed schedules conspire to keep us from our bucket lists. But then middle age settles in, and things change. We ask ourselves: Do I have goals that have been on the back burner? And if so, what am I going to do about them? Some call this a mid-life crisis. Not me! I call it a mid-life awakening.

My daughter, Emma, and I had talked about skydiving together. We both had milestone birthdays in July; she was turning 21, and I was turning 50, so I set a date. But then Emma became skeptical, so I told her no big deal; she could watch me and decide for herself if she wanted to do it in the future.

On the big day, wearing my Sally O’Malley “I’m 50!” T-shirt, I headed to Drake Field with my family. The staff at Sky Dive Fayetteville were incredible, and soon Emma changed her mind and decided to jump. My husband and son, 16, who had accompanied us, made plans for a future tandem jump on my son’s 18th birthday.  

After a training video and some paperwork, we were each harnessed up and locked onto an instructor, who communicated and filmed through Go-Pro cameras so we could capture the experience. Then we took off.

The plane started climbing—and then we learned we had to circle the airport for a while due to incoming air traffic. Of course, my nerves started to kick in the longer we were in the sky. But our instructors were amazing, checking on us, making jokes and trying to keep us from bailing out—figuratively if not literally.

Finally it was time. I had volunteered to go first. I can still feel the air pelting me in the face, shaking every ounce of exposed skin. My instructor and I waddled together in unison to the door, and suddenly I couldn’t remember anything he had told me to do. My instructor could sense this and quickly reassured me that he had me, and all was going perfectly. 

I glanced down and saw the landscape of Washington County beneath me, with nothing to separate me from it but the air—the same air that was taking my breath away. “One, two, three…go!” I rolled awkwardly out of the plane like Humpty Dumpty, and off we went. 

Free falling was, by far, my favorite part. Total freedom…no control…cold wind pressing my breath back down into my lungs. It was terrifying, but exhilarating, all at the same time. Some adrenalin-fueled choice words then unexpectedly escaped my mouth, and I could hear my instructor chuckling behind me. Then, it was time to pull the rip cord for the parachute, which I did, and with a sharp jolt, we were soon coasting over picturesque Northwest Arkansas. 

I could see Emma, who had jumped after me, off in the distance, and Razorback Stadium as well. The instructor reminded me to pick up my legs and feet as he smoothly took us down to the grassy area of the airport, where everyone was waiting for us with huge smiles. We then quickly moved out of the way and waited for Emma to land. It was no time until I heard a shrieking giggle as she was gently placed on the ground, her face beaming brightly from ear to ear. Needless to say, I was in an adrenaline-induced haze for the rest of the day. 

So what is my take away from skydiving? Whatever is on your bucket list, do it while you are still able. And if you don’t have a bucket list, make one and start working your way down, because we never know if our next day will be our last. Don’t wait for permission to do what you’ve always wanted to do. No one will give it to you but yourself. Life is too short to leave anything undone.