WhaHappen?

Being a wanna-be, I always try to keep up with what the kids are into nowadays, mostly because alot of their activities and interests looks fun (keyword being “looks”). So last year at the beach, I saw a bunch of teenagers on skimboards gracefully sweeping across the incoming tides. And it just LOOKED so cool. Watching them, I could almost hear classical music accompanying their ballet-like movements on this skimboard-thingy and it was just pure glee on their face.

So yeah, that fateful day, I decided that professional skimboarding was next on my to-do list. First stop, Big 5 Sporting Goods store. Actually, before I dragged Husband Jace to help me pick one out, I polled the Kessler family members for reassurance that skimboarding would be a welcome addition to our already chaotic repertoire of activities, and that we would indeed make time to use said recreational equipment. Everyone voted “aye” and off we went.

(Meanwhile, back home in the dark recesses of the garage cupboards, the snickering Ghost of Sports Equipment Past was making room for yet another corpse, never to be unearthed again.)

We picked out a “starter” board and I sheepishly hauled it to the cashier, wondering if this purchase can only lead to terrible things involving plaster on my appendages. So I asked the clerk, “Um… do people return skimboards, like, if they’re dissatisfied with its performance and such?”

The clerk looked me up and down and smirked, “Not really.” So I pressed him for more details. “Well – specifically, has anyone ever returned a skimboard while looking like this:”

He was clearly not in a humorous mood. Jeez, for someone working in a sporting goods store, he sure got no joy out of it. If it were me, I’d be roller-skating all around the place while lifting dumbbells.

So anyhoo, off to the beach for us that Memorial Day weekend. We’re all standing around the seashore practically drawing straws to determine the sacrificial lamb. Basically, it was a re-enactment of: “I’m not gonna try it, you try it. Hey, let’s get Mom!”

Not one to disappoint, I quickly did a mental inventory of my medical coverage: AFLAC, check. Inclusion of benefits for prosthetic devices, check. Long-term care facility option, check. Good to go.

And this video, my friends, historically records the first step towards my Skimboarding gold medal.

Tell me about something you were afraid to try, but did it anyway…and then regretted it later.