Oh, Yes I did...

Here it is......The thing I get to mark off of my HSC (heart, soul, and courage list) is.........................

I tubed down the Guadalupe River!!!

Oh......Yes I did!!!!

We have done this before, but believe me, We were much younger!

This was on my list and now I get to scratch through it.....Sam came in Tuesday evening, after his Pecan Meeting, and said "Get your swim suit on, We are fixing to go Float the river." 

A part of me wanted to panic, but another part of me was very excited.  The more I thought about it, the more scared I got.  WOW.......I couldn't believe how spontaneous Sam was at making this decision.

Here we go, headed for New Braunfels.......Just as we get to the turn off, I told Sam that I thought maybe we should just ride the Comal River this time and maybe next year we could tackle the Guadalupe.    I could see he was a little disappointed, but we did go to the Comal.   Us and about 5000 other people.  OMG.......it was way to crowded....and a wee bit frustrating.

I then told Sam that I thought I would be OK riding the Guadalupe and just to go on across town for us to get our tubes for that river.  With no hesitation, he turned the truck around and headed to the other side of town.  The closer we got, the more I was silently praying.  I was really so nervous and I just said, "Lord, if I am not suppose to do this, then please let the time be up for renting tubes for the day"

The time was not up.......we were there just in time for the last tubes to go out for the day.......

I knew there was no turning back.  I stepped out of the truck (pick myself up off of the ground) and hurry, hurry, hurry, down to the river.  

Ice Cold River......That is exactly what it was!  Sam tied our tubes together, so I felt a little bit better and then off we went.  Tubing the river!!

The very first set of rapids was not very far away and my heart was pounding....Scared to death.

I can not swim at all, and all I could think about was that crazy tube flipping me.  Forget about the drowning, I was going to be so embarassed.  Well, wouldn't you know it....I was so panicked, that I was clinging to my tube and all of a sudden, my hand got stuck between a rock and the tube.  I now had my warrior scar from fighting the river.  Big bruise on my hand with just a small bit of skin ripped off.

Oh well, I survived and did not flip!  The next three or four sets of rapids were not so bad.  The river is up, so it made it easier not to hit the rocks.  Everything was going well, and we were visiting with some kids that were from Katy, Texas.  One of the guys was a certified life guard, so I thought YEA....I'll be OK for sure.  It wasn't long before they had all floated way past us and they were forever gone down that river.  So much for the certified lifeguard!

We now were coming to the part that was so terrifying for me.  It was the drop off just about two hundred yards from where we were getting off of the river.   You were suppose to stay in the middle and that way the flow would send you right over and right on down.........WE DIDN'T MAKE THE MIDDLE PART!!  We missed it by about 5 feet.  Not so good....many, many, more dips in the water.  I now had water splashing all in my face and I can tell you that I was clinging to that tube.

When you get past that point, you have to watch out for the bridge pylons that were just ahead.  A man was standing there and as I approached the pylons (Sam's tube was still tied to mine, and he was behind me)  the man gave my tube a push and I was certainly happy.  It pushed me back into the flow of the river and I knew I was going to be headed down stream again. 

I take a look back, and Sam is not on his tube.  When the man pushed my tube, it caused Sam's tube to flip.  Off he went and he scratched his hand on the pylon.  Here he comes, hanging on to the tube (hand bleeding).  He manages to get back up on his tube and we are doing great.  We can now see the GET OFF POINT, and what a relief for me. 

Now this is the funny part......I was so scared that we were going to miss the get off point and keep floating down that river.

We paddle our way over toward the side closest to the bank, but that did not work.....That is actually a very deep part of the river and guess what?  We are stuck in a whirlpool.  Sam and I are going NO WHERE!!  All the rest of the group was loaded on the bus ready to go back to the cars.....but not Sam and I.  We are stuck in the river.  Sam has to jump off of his tube and push us both over to the bank.  This was a huge struggle.  We finally make it, but now I have to get out of the tube.  I can only imagine the sight and thank goodness no one was behind us !  Me having to roll out of that tube!  I am certainly glad  the others were already on the bus.....

Here we go, now on our way to load up.  We step on that bus and it is FULL of seventeen and eighteen year olds.  We got a few looks, but the kids were very friendly.  Sam and I quickly grab us a place to sit down and in that five mile ride that it took to get back to our car, we both realized something......

We were the oldest on that bus!!!

That was the best part.....We found out that we still could accomplish something that a seventeen or eighteen year old could do.  Just not with as much energy or grace as before.....

What a great time we had and I am very thankful that we both had the courage to do this one.  My heart was in it, My soul was almost in it, and the courage just appeared out of the blue.....

Shug...............

Don't be afraid to try something one more time in life, but don't forget to pray about it first......

Please remember to pray for Baby Zeb!!