Kayaks and key lime pie
I'm a chocoholic. Always have been, always will be. But I had key lime pie to celebrate my birthday earlier this month. Why? It had been a week of firsts.
When I traveled to the Adirondacks with my family, I decided to press reset on my default factory settings of "creature of habit" and "say no to new things." My husband and son are active and go hard, so I wanted to participate. I knew this would require getting out of my comfort zone. The end result was that in the days leading up to my birthday, I tackled a whole bunch of firsts:
I played pickleball. Multiple times.
I hiked to a summit. It was not easy.
I went kayaking. And fell in love with it!
I climbed an indoor rock wall. I did not go too far, but I did it.
I went tubing down a lazy river. An unexpected blast of fun!
I went tubing on a lake. Step aside, fear.
None of these things are particularly notable or crazy. Many of you wouldn't think twice about any of them. But as someone who typically stays in one lane -- and doesn't like any sort of "thrill rides" -- strapping on a rock climbing harness or volunteering to get in a tube knowing I might fly off at any moment is, indeed, notable.
The first new challenge I said "yes" to was playing pickleball. I scoffed at it at first, preferring to stick with tennis after my six-year hiatus from the court. But then... I tried it and enjoyed it. I broke a sweat and it felt great! I was doing something different and liking it! This made it much easier to say yes to the next new activity. And the one after that, and so on and so forth.
Lo and behold, the momentum of trying one new thing led me to try more new things. Not to mention, my impending birthday gave me a fresh perspective. Life is short and meant to be lived. I reminded myself: there is a difference between being uncomfortable and unsafe. For example, the worst that could happen with kayaking or tubing was that... I fell in the water, while wearing a life jacket, on a hot day.
Enter the key lime pie. It was the only dessert on the menu I hadn't tried before. I know it sounds silly, but I also know I never, ever would have ordered it if I hadn't already said yes to a bunch of other new stuff. Fast forward to my birthday a few days later and my request to go back to that restaurant so I could celebrate with key lime pie.
In many ways, the key lime pie was the icing on the cake.
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