so scared, yet so proud

Life is a gift.  Daily we are given opportunities and it's our choice as to whether or not we make the most of it.  Some days may have more unique gifts than others and for me, today was that day.  

Yesterday, I watched my kids and their cousins go on roller coaster after roller coaster with huge smiles on their faces.  I'd watch in wonderment and try to figure out why do they like that or how do they do that?  After talking with my sister-in-law, Michelle, about how scary it seemed to me, she kindly offered to go on Powder Keg with me.  I couldn't help but hem and haw, but finally decided that "yes, I'll do it."  And I know that this may seem really silly to some, but every time I rolled over during the night, I thought about the start of the rapid coaster.  I too would find myself going 0 to 58 in 2.8 seconds!  

I have to be honest, there really wasn't any strong desire to go on this terrifying excursion other than knowing that not long ago, going on this ride would't have even been an option.  Any stressful or tense situation would have sent my muscles into a big knot and not just during the ride, but likely for the rest of the day, if not two!  Plus, I couldn't help but think about those who would give anything to go on a jaunt like this but maybe can't, do to limitations similar to what mine use to be.  So, yes, this really was something that I HAD to do.  

Once the attendant had me locked into position and the cars moved into the starting position, I looked at my sister in law and said, "There's no going back now."  I became a ball of nerves and she graciously offered to link arms and I wasn't about to turn her down.  I looked over at the rest of my family (many of whom had already ridden the ride) and smiled at them as the pressure began to build in my body.  And before I knew it, we were off on the ride of our lives.  

Yes, this was incredibly scary, but I am so happy that I took this opportunity to face my fear and can wake up tomorrow with no regrets.  Is there anything better than that?