Lessons learned from flying through the air

I wish I could say I marched right up that ladder at Circus Fund, grabbed the trapeze and jumped off the platform, but I can't.

I climbed the rickety 30-foot ladder and got stuck. Going back down the ladder seemed like a bad idea, but jumping off the platform holding onto a bar didn't seem like a fabulous alternative either.

I was stuck. Up there, listening to the cheers of pals, who were really thinking "sometime tonight, Natalie, I'd like to get up there myself."

Certainly it didn't help when I asked the super-perky-with-super-toned-arms-trapeze-teacher if anyone had ever peed themselves and her answer was affirmative.

Somehow, possibly with a little kick in the knee from the trapeze people, I went. Perhaps just to get down.
There may be an incriminating photo displaying my terror out there on the Internet.

But you know what? It was awesome. I flew. And then I got scared to let go of the bar. So the harness-man-super-buff-trapeze-man was able to stop me completely.

The first lesson learned at #TrapezeGNO (girls night out): I am a total wuss. And don't trust anything until it is proven. But I could have told you that already.

Next, they said "OK, now you're going to flip your knees up onto the trapeze and then let go with your arms and swing with your knees. Then you'll backflip off."

This is when I asked "Funny. What do you really want us to do?" to Theresa of RockonMommies.com

Photo by CaliforniaKara, who graciously came and took photos.

But with a little practice on the bar comfortably close to the floor, we were ready to go.

Lesson: practice to become perfect

Sugar Jones practicing

Once we learned what we could on the ground, we were declared ready. We did not declare ourselves ready.

Keeping my legs together. Trying to achieve banana-like form. Their instructive words, not mine.

Success was mine. I was thrilled.

The final trick was to swing on your knees and get caught in the air by buff-trapeze-man swinging on a trapeze as well. We asked if it was necessary to take off the shirt. He said yes.

Liz, of iizliz and BabyBlooze.com, making the catch. Success. Photo by CaliforniaKara

The timing had to be perfect. And I did it.

Lesson learned: listening helps.

And then I did a happy dance.

Photo by Reese Dixon

Never in my life have I experienced such fear and such exhilaration  in the same day. Heck, in the same hour. It was darn near emotional. 

Lesson learned: I can do anything I put my mind to. That MBA program? With so much homework the first week I thought I was never going to see the light of day? I can do it.

The work proposal I am writing? I can do it.

Certainly things may take a bit longer to do than figuring out a few tricks, but the feeling of conquering something that seemed so hard at first remains.

Look for us on Channel 7/39 later this week.

Other lessons:
Techie friends on the Internet are awesome. But can completely blackmail you. So don't cross them. But Liz, you have nothing to worry about. She accomplished all the tasks fearlessly. With grace no less.

Even if you think something is scary, do it. Unless it is life-threatening. I called Circus Fund to see if anyone had ever died. They said it was bad for business.

Enjoy how you feel. I was jumping up and down due to adrenalin. I was almost in tears before. All of it contributed to a better experience. In life we sometimes hide behind a wall. Forget the wall.

Another lesson? Hang with great people. At the tweetup, @EyeMusing, @ReeseDixon, @CandiceStone, @CathyNguyen, @EverydayMama, @GingerAnderson, @Hip_M0M, @iizLiz, @jboydSanDiego, @Karinayhmy, @RockOnMommies, @SugarJones and quite possibly a few others? Let me know!

Thanks to @NBCPhotog for shooting it -- and @CaliforniaKara for taking pictures!

And @Bskinz for sending us the pants. They were amazing.