My third experience skydiving was a few days after my second experience.  I decided to take my older sister for her birthday.  I picked her up in Phoenix, Arizona early in the morning and we drove south to get to the drop zone.  The sky was slightly overcast, which is rare in this part of Arizona but we were determined to make the best of it regardless.  She had been working out for a few months up to this point so her health was good enough to make the jump.  I could not wait to go again so off we went to fall from the sky.  I was the major sports participant in the family.  She had always been more of a sports fan than a sports participant but you only live once, as they say.

We arrived at the drop zone and were able to get on a plane in no time.  I am a bit of an independent and this was the third tandem jump I had done and I was really itching to do it on my own, however it was the most efficient solution for her birthday.  It is amazing to my how people are willing to do things that they are not normally willing to do with a few stories told with unfettered excitement.

I was absolutely charged yet calm and serene by the time we got to the appropriate altitude.  It was time to jump out the door and I was ready to go.  The cloud cover was just below our jumping altitude so we got to experience falling through a cloud.  It was not one of those super dense clouds that we could not see through but it was an added bonus to the day.

Again, I was in a state of serenity during freefall.  The canopy was open and I was in control of the reigns.  My sister and her instructor were not far behind so we were able to play a little due to our proximity in the sky.  The instructor quizzed me about the landing direction based on the wind direction.  It was more challenging to see the wind sock than I had expected.  Additionally, I was instructed on how to perform “S” turns on the approach and practiced the timing of the flare at the end.  We landed with less impact than stepping off of a curb.

When my sister got to the ground her face is all I needed to see if my gift of health and perspective was successful.  We chatted with the instructors for a few minutes and started to head back to Phoenix.  When we started to pull out of the facility a light rain began.  The joke was that we brought the rain down with us when we went through the cloud.  I have no idea as to the potential truth in this but it made for a good birthday story.  We were driving down the freeway with the windows down for probably 30 minutes before we even noticed all of the wind in the car.  Wind rushing past your body at 120 mph is much more intense than having the windows down at 75 mph.

I highly recommend taking friends and family skydiving regardless of their fitness.  It just seems to make everything better.  The mind becomes sharpened and less reactive and your body just feels better.  And everywhere you go there is a smile on your face.  It is a great bonding experience that will be remembered and appreciated for the rest of your lives.  Additionally, it serves as inspiration to keep up with physical training and exercise.

My sister was grateful for the experience and it seemed to give her a more healthy outlook on life, which was my secret objective for taking her with me.