Ali decided to bring her book on the boat, but as we sped to another end of the lake, bouncing on the waves, reading became more of a complication than a source of relaxation. She spent a few stubborn minutes clinging to the pages of her book and setting her eyes on each word, but as our ride grew bumpier, she finally sighed and looked out to the water instead.
Luke was the first to try water-skiing. He is the most athletic of our team, playing football, basketball, track, and golf at school, but his nervousness shone through a little as he fumbled to put on the skis. Water-skiing is something we do not have in our desert-dry Texas town.
The first try, Luke momentarily clambered to his feet as the boat plowed forward before tumbling back into the water. Skiing turned out to be quite a bit more difficult than expected. However, by the third try, Luke got the hang of the sport, managing to stay on his feet for nearly a minute (longer than anyone else in our group).
He climbed back into the boat, breathless and worn out, but tasting the success of having managed to water-ski, even if only for a minute.
Amy was next. After watching Luke struggle, she knew water-skiing was harder than it looked. We gave her several shots, but the sport is difficult. Amy never did quite manage to water-ski, but she came close and gave a valiant effort.
Finally, Ali took a turn. The biggest challenge for her was putting on the skis. They were long, red, and cumbersome, with rubber shoes that were difficult to squeeze on while submerged in the cool lake water. It took a few minutes, but Ali finally was ready for the boat to pull her forward.
Out of the three water-skiers in our group, Ali was the most stubborn. She probably took nine or ten shots at water-skiing. Eventually, she managed to stay on her feet for five seconds or so. While this sounds like a short amount of time, it was a major victory. Our team is clearly inexperienced in the art of water sports, so even a few seconds was reason for celebration.
When Ali finally did give up and allow us to pull her back onto the boat, it wasn't because she was a quitter, but because her arms were too tired to work anymore! Yes, water-skiing was harder than any of us Texans expected.
We spent a couple of hours on the lake this afternoon and then retired back to the house to eat and relax. This was our final day on the lake. Tomorrow we will make the drive to Isle of Palms, South Carolina, where we will spend our final week of vacation on the beach.
Two years ago: Blogging: Stressful First Post
This put a big smile on my face!
ReplyDelete