Stepping Outside the Box

For those of you who know me, you know that the majority of the time I tend to stay in my own little comfort zone. I have a pretty concrete definition of who I am and what I am comfortable doing/or not doing. Over the last 24 years, there are only few moments where I have taken a "big leap" outside that little box.

So it's a big deal, when I face up to a few of my fears and let go long enough to enjoy myself. Over the weekend, Jamie and I had plans to meet up in Orlando to enjoy Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Since the trip was planned on short notice (and a limited budget) I was forced to drive down rather than my customary mode of air travel. It has been nearly 2 years since I completed a long road trip by myself.....my fear of traffic had barred me from them. However, the promise of a weekend with Jamie was too much to pass up, so I loaded the car and headed south. Around the 3 hour mark, I remembered why I loved driving so much -- it was just me, the radio, and the open road. And when I crossed into Orlando, I realized that I had successfully navigated myself thru unfamiliar areas with nothing more than a few brief directions....Yea me!

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon. Jamie, Beau, Brooke and I are standing in line at the Hulk roller coaster over at Island Adventures. As we slowly move to the front of the line, I find myself creating excuses on why I couldn't go on the ride. At one point, I begged Jamie "Don't make me do this....". He squeezed my hand and told me that if I didn't want to do it that when we made it to the front, I could just walk to the exit. On the next breathe, he assured me that I would be fine if I did the ride....and I might find myself enjoying it. And he was right, I enjoyed the Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and Revenge of the Mummy.

As I drove the 5 hours home today, I realized a few things about myself...and about Jamie. I had to face the fact that I don't take risks very often. I tend to play things safe and in the process miss out on some of the fun of life. I also realized that Jamie is the type of person to push the limits (within reason) and encourages me to the do the same. After all, he is the reason that I've been hunting, fishing, and fly at least once a month - things I'd never imagined myself doing. I am one of those lucky people who has someone who wants them to try new things, see new places, and have new adventures. On the other hand, this same person makes it okay for me to say "I don't want to because I'm scared". And generally speaking, he's right beside me when I take that step....or leap...outside my safety zone. What a lucky gal I am!