Thrill Seeker

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Today we went to the water park because dang nabbit, we’d had it.

With city inspections and work emails and tweaked backs and packing for vacation and Morning Edition and the whole lot of it.

Chuck it, we said.

And the next thing you know we’re wearing wrist bands and deciding which water slides are the scariest and how quickly can we get there.

Actually, at first, it appeared we were going to be a little risk averse. 

We won’t do the very, very craziest rides, okay, Mama? said Tall One.

And I’d like a life jacket, said Small One.

Say wha?!?!

This is the child who has no pain threshold, no sense of mortality and a keen eye for the extreme. 
A life jacket???

But okay.

So we started tenderly. On a lazy-river-kind-of-thing that was, well, boring.

So which water slides are the scariest? And how quickly can we get there?

That’s how we spent the rest of the day. 

And when we stopped for lunch (which was at 3 o’clock because we could not bring ourselves to stop until we were faint of heart and spirit) we pulled out a map, circled all the things we’d already done and plotted out what we’d hit before nightfall. 

On the way home we talked about our favorites and “it turns out,” said Small, ” that the ones that make you kind of nervous are the best.”

And that’s the thing about life and waterslides, isn’t it?

I mean, parenthood, for one. 

Or writing.

Or showing somebody your writing.

Might as well go headfirst down a speed chute.

Whoopin’ and hollerin’ the whole way….

16 Responses to “Thrill Seeker”

  1. susanwrites

    How do you do what you do, manage to always tie your life to your work as a creative person? I just love that about you! It sounds like a wonderful day.

  2. laurasalas

    Susan, that’s exactly what I was going to say! This is a blog about life, not just writing! I want to meet Liz in person and get some of her spirit by osmosis. Please?

  5. Anonymous

    After taking the weekend off, your post really through me into the deep-end. I have been inching my toes into the shallow-end of the pool all morning, not sure if I could really write today – not really wanting to. And now – well, the little-bit-scary days really ARE the best.

    Thanks for the reminder, Liz.

    Amy Hanek
    http://www.houseonthegladehill.blogspot.com

  6. Anonymous

    oops… did I say ‘through’? I meant ‘threw.’ lol