A Boat, a Tube & a Lake

Yesterday was a perfect day!!! It was sunny and hot, with absolutely no rain clouds in sight. Most of the time, I would say this was the kind of day that would be totally miserable, but yesterday, it was perfect. You see, we were at the lake with some friends. As a last minute farewell to summer, they called and asked if we'd be interested in going to Lake Conroe with them - and their boat. Since we had no other plans, we decided that it sounded like fun and would be a welcomed break from our day-to-day rituals.

So, after dropping baby Ian off at Grandma's house, we loaded up their Suburban, and headed North. Excitement was in the air! My kids, Alex & Morgann, were totally in the dark as to where we were going and what we were going to do when we got there, so the boat that was trailing behind us had them a bit perplexed. But, their little minds were turning, and the questions were flowing; "Where are we going mom?" "Why is there a boat following us?" "Are we there yet?"

Once we arrived at our point of destination, we hurredly unloaded the car and loaded up the boat with all of our necessary gear - beach bags with towels and sunblock, ice chests with drinks & food, more beach bags filled with water toys, and several different sized innertubes. The women and children stood on the dock while the men launched the boat into the water and guided it into the boat dock. I could see that my oldest son, Alex, was starting to get a bit worried. I just knew that the tears were going to start flowing at any moment. You see, he hadn't been on a boat since he was a baby, and the idea of going 'fast' anywhere outside of a car, much less on water, wasn't a very appealing thought to him. He's what we call a Nervous Nelly; he doesn't like to try anything new, so scary was definitely out of the question! His friend, Seth, on the other hand, could hardly contain his excitement and was ready to jump into the boat before it was securely tied to the dock on which we stood! I tried to point out to Alex that if Seth wasn't scared, he shouldn't be either, but that didn't seem to matter to my little man. He was just concerned and that's all there was to it.

So, skipping ahead now...we had finally loaded everyone into the boat and gotten all the kids securely fastened into their life vests. Alex, at this point, was really nervous, and started asking Seth's dad if we were going to go fast? Trying to get Alex's mind off of the unknown, Michael attempts to put him at ease and asks Alex to sit with him. Nope, wasn't going to happen! Alex wanted to be in his own seat, nearest a long silver handle that he could grip for dear life. I guess he figured if the boat was going to tip, he would be the safest person there because he certainly wasn't going to let go of that hot, silver bar! As we began to back out away from the dock, the inevitable happened...the tears started flowing! Alex had finally hit his breaking point and could no longer handle the fear that he was facing. Daddy was working hard to calm him down, but he was going to have none of it. Crying was definitely the right thing to do at that moment, so he was going to cry for all he was worth. I think we were going all of 5mph, if that fast, because we were going through the boat-dock area, but Alex was showing no signs of letting up, so we decide to just let him cry it out, knowing that he'd be ok in just a few minutes. I'm happy to report, we were right :) Once we passed the buoys, our driver hit the throttle and we were suddenly moving at about 25MPH. All of the sudden, Alex was smiling and having a great time, though his hand still hadn't left that silver handle.

Morgann's reaction to this very new and exciting adventure was totally different from her big brother's. My friend Debbie labeled Morgann as our "Adrenaline Junky". Very appropriate, I think. She was having a blast; smiling from ear to ear and loving every minute of it. The faster we went, the bigger her smile got! It was so fun watching her enjoy this new experience.

Once we arrived at our destination for the afternoon, a little island out in the middle of the lake, we dropped anchor and jumped into the very shallow water. Alex & Seth had a blast splashing and swimming around, while Morgann decided she'd prefer to stay in the arms of her daddy or mommy. Daddy & Mommy enjoyed ourselves too, getting to spend some time talking with other grown-ups. After a few hours of play time, we all jumped back into the boat and ate our lunch, then it was back to playing! We must have stayed in that spot for about 3 or 4 hours - not sure exactly how long it was, but that's a pretty close guess.

As it neared time to head home, we decided that it would be fun to do some 'tubing' before heading back to the dock. Seth & his mommy went first, while Alex sat in his seat, holding onto the bar that kept him so safe for the ride out. Seth's daddy was the driver, so he took them out nice & slow at first, but then gradually built up some speed. After a few minutes, Seth decided he'd had enough and it was time stop. Seth's mommy, on the other hand, took that opportunity to ride the tube alone. Since she too is an adrenaline junky, the goal was to see how long she could hold on, and how fast the boat could drag her & the tube she was in. After making a few hair-pin turns, whipping Debbie around from one side to the other at break-neck speeds, she decided it was time to relinquish the tube to Michael. I guess that watching Seth have fun with his mommy in the tube gave Alex a boost of bravery because it was at this juncture that Alex decided that he'd go out in the tube with his daddy. But first, he had to be certain that our driver, Mr. Campbell, knew to keep the boat at a nice, slow speed. After getting the reassurance he needed from Campbell, Alex hopped into his daddy's lap for the ride of his life. After moving the boat forward to get rid of the slack in the rope, Mr. Campbell pushed the throttle down a bit and we were off again. I couldn't really tell what was being said, but there was allot of talking going on between Alex and his daddy. I'm guessing that Michael was attempting to reassure Alex that they were totally safe, but whatever it was that Michael said, it didn't work for very long. When we saw the sign from Michael, we realized that Alex's tube ride was over and he wanted to get back into the boat as quickly as he could.

But, not to be outdone by her brother, Morgann started yelling that it was her turn to ride the tube. So after hauling a shaky brother back into the boat, we lowered Morgann down into her daddy's lap, let the slack out of the rope and were off again. My little adrenaline junky and her father were having a blast. Michael kept giving us the thumbs-up sign and indicating that we should pick up the pace a bit. I could see the smile on Morgann's face and knew that she was definitely her daddy's girl - mommy would never do such a thing! After a few minutes, Morgann was put back into the boat, and Michael finally had the chance to ride the tube alone. His parting words for Campbell were "There's no such thing as too fast". I think Campbell took him seriously because after only a few minutes, Michael went flying off the tube for the first time. After swinging back around to be sure he was still in 1 piece, we helped him back into the tube for a 2nd ride - this time on his stomach. Again, after only a few minutes, Michael went flying off the tube again, but this time skid across the water on his back for a bit before finally coming to a stop. With a smile on his face, he decided to go one more time. Are you getting the picture yet?

It was at that moment that I realized just how different each member of our family really is. Michael & Morgann were ready for anything, and couldn't get enough of the death-defying innertube. Alex wanted to be brave and show his daddy that he could do it, but his little psyche could only stand so much before he could no longer handle the shear terror he felt. I, on the other hand, wouldn't leave the boat. I'm not a dare-devil and I know my limits; that innertube being dragged behind the boat, at no matter what speed, was beyond my limits. I'm very content to watch everyone else, thank you :) I couldn't help but think of my friend and her recent adventure to a water park. She & her youngest son plummeting down a dark slide, backwards...nope, I just can't do it! I'm a chicken, and I'll be the first to admit it :)