You said "Over the Hill", think again son!!!

It was a crisp mid-September Day. I was going through the normal motions of getting ready to go to work when my older son came strolling in. Excitedly he exclaimed "Happy Birthday Mom, you are going Over the Hill today!! I thanked him for remembering my birthday but also mentioned that turning 40 was by no means "Over the Hill" for me. He gave a sarcastic laugh and headed off to school.

A few minutes later I arrived at work and just as I was settling in for the day, my co-worker wandered into my office. "Happy Birthday Seetha, doing anything special today?" he asked. I told him I had nothing planned and went on to recount that morning's incident with my son. He asked me to 'get used to it' and went back to his office. Later that morning I was rummaging through my desk drawer looking for an article I needed and happened upon a brochure I had picked up from the local grocery store several months back. It read, "Want to fly like a bird, then come to our facility in Rittman and try for yourself". The name of the outfit was Aerohio.

When I saw the name Rittman a light bulb went off in my head. You see, Rittman was located just a few miles down the road from where I worked. It was literally in my backyard and at that instant I knew what I was going to do for my birthday. Fancy finding that brochure that very moment!! Aerohio was a SKYDIVING school and I had made up mind that I would go skydiving for my birthday.

I watched my first skydving show on TV when I first came to the US. I remember thinking to myself "it would be so nice if I could do that". Fast forward 15 years and I found myself in my car driving to Aerohio, just a few minutes from my first skydiving experience. Yes, the minute I decided what I was going to do, I went over to my boss's office and asked him if I could take the rest of the day off. He knew it was my birthday, so with a sly smile, he granted me permission to leave. Little did he know what I was really about to do!

I arrived at the Drop Zone in Rittman around noon and walked into the main office to find out if I could even do what I wanted to do. To my surprise the place was buzzing with people in their flying suits and parachutes and other skydiving paraphernalia. I nervously approached the lady at the front desk and even before I could say a word, she quipped, "New to skydiving eh? Don't worry we will teach you what to do. We have various options you can chose from". She rattled off a whole bunch of options, none of which registered in my brain. "What have I got myself into", I thought. The lady at the front desk looked at me and smiled. She walked out of her booth, took my hand and walked me outside. She pointed to a group of people walking towards me and said, "See, those people have just come back from their first jump". I looked at them and noticed that they were all thrilled and excited and laughing. She walked me back inside, handed me a brochure with all the options available to me and asked me to go through the list and decide which one I wanted to do. I started reading and the very first option got my attention. It said 'Tandem Jump - For first time skydivers'. It went on to explain that the novice (more like nervous) skydiver would be tethered to an experienced instructor the whole time. I thought to myself, that wouldn't be too bad, I can do it. So before I could change my mind I quickly completed all the paperwork necessary (literally signed my life away) and handed it to the lady along with the fees for the jump. She then took me into the prep room and introduced me to my partner in crime, my instructor. He was an Austrian gentleman and had a very kind face. He instantly made me feel very comfortable. He showed me all the equipment we would have with us and explained how they worked. He explained how the parachute is packed, although I did not have to do it for my first time. He showed me how I should hold my body once we were out of the plane and throughout the fall, how to read the altimeter, when to pull the parachute cord etc. Of course, he explained, "I will be right there with you if anything went wrong". All this took about an hour. After that we suited up, got our gear and headed to the open-bellied plane that was waiting for us.

We were a group of 15 people and I was the only novice in that group. One man explained to me that he had jumped hundreds of times and assured me I would enjoy myself. As soon as we boarded the plane the instructor and I got tethered together and now all we had to do was sit tight until we reached the right altitude for the jump. I was so nervous I felt like I was going to barf. But the rest of the group was very friendly and encouraging and that calmed me down a lot. We had now reached the right altitude (10,000 to 12,000 ft.) and one by one all the experienced folks started jumping out the plane. My instructor and I were inching towards the gaping hole in the belly of the plane. And then there I was standing at the edge looking down at the earth far below and it was my turn to jump (no turning back now). I suddenly realized that since my instructor was tethered to my back it was my job to do the initiate the actual jumping. I hesitated a little, said a prayer and out I went!!!






The second I exited the plane, I assumed my body position. I let gravity take over and that relaxed me. My fears just totally vanished and all I felt was the adrenalin rush of freedom. It was a gorgeous day and I felt the wind whipping against my face. It was the most exhilarating, thrilling, fantastic feeling I have ever felt. I literally felt like a bird just gliding along with the earth rushing towards me at break-neck speed! The free-fall lasted for 60 seconds (about a mile in distance) at which time we reach speeds of 120 mph. The best, most awesome 60 seconds of my life ever. When we reached the altitude of around 4500 ft. I opened the parachute and I started a joyous five minutes of just wafting along, going through clouds, and enjoying the scenery below me. My instructor was pointing out some of the landmarks of the area. After a heavenly five minutes we came in for a landing and it was all over. And then it hit me - I had just jumped off a perfectly fine plane and had the thrill of my life doing it!!!!

"OVER THE HILL"? Not a chance I said when I showed my son the video of my jump when I went home that evening.

Here are some pictures of that momentous 40 birthday gift I gave myself, :)!!