Fifty-one is not old. But sometimes I feel like it’s too old to be trying new things. Old dog. New tricks. You know how it goes.
On the other hand, it’s never too late to experience something new.
So today, I did something new – got in a rickety, shaky, wobbly kayak and paddled as if my life depended on it (cause it kinda did) for about a kilometre to take in the sights of Loonie Island.
Make no mistake. The conditions could not have been more favourable to kayak. The water was smooth, temperature was great, no humidity and virtually nobody on the water. Leading up to getting in the kayak, I was actually excited to make my maiden voyage.
How quickly the tide turns.
No, not a storm or a giant wave.
Just the insane fear that I was going to tip this thing over at any moment. I should say, I don’t like water. Not that I’m afraid, necessarily. Just completely and utterly unsure, unconfident, and unaware of how to survive in the water. Sure, I can tread water in a pool for about 19.4 seconds and even “swim” from one end of a pool to another, but put me in open water where my feet can’t touch anything solid? No thanks.
Add to that the absolute lack of knowledge of what the hell I was supposed to do to make the kayak go, and it was pretty much a disaster in the making.
We set off, and about 3 seconds in I wanted to turn around and nope my way out of this. But, being a good husband, I decided to set aside my petrification (is that a word?) and keep wildly paddling along to make my wife happy, and because I’m stubborn and wanted to see Loonie Island from up close.
The entire way there, I felt completely useless and terrified. I don’t think I was able to relax any muscle in the slightest way. But a funny thing happened once I saw the island. I kind of forgot that I was paddling on doom’s doorstep, and just took in the surroundings. It was beautiful, and for a few seconds, I almost got into a bit of a rhythm.
Then, I tried to pry my phone out of my pocket to take photographic evidence of the island, and my fear came rocketing back with the wobbles I caused in the kayak. However, I quickly settled down and managed to actually enjoy myself!
A few photos and moments of relaxation later, and it was time for the journey back.
You know what? It wasn’t that terrible.
I stopped worrying about being so close to shore, and instead just embraced the experience. I have no desire to hop back into a kayak tomorrow, but I absolutely would do it again, as long as the water conditions are as calm as they were tonight.
I guess there’s some sort of life lesson or metaphor here, but I’ll leave that to others to try and draw from it. All I can say is when you open yourself up to trying new things, it’s not always going to be horrible. And that makes it worth it – tomorrow’s inevitable sore arms and shoulders notwithstanding!