As a child, my mom’s entire side
of my family would go on a camping trip up to the White Mountain National Park
in Lincoln New Hampshire. It was something that the whole family looked forward
to, and something that created many memories for me as a kid. However, this
came to a brutal halt after one hilarious summer.
My parents, brothers and I, left
late for the trip. We hadn’t gotten to the site til around 2 in the afternoon,
and by the time we had arrived my whole family was already at our favorite
swimming spot; a large rock which was only a swim across from a very rocky
beach. The rock was slippery at the edges, allowing for the younger kids to
slide into the river and the top of the rock was a cliff, where the older kids
and adults would either jump off or dive into the water. I was around 7 or 8
years old, by that time, and even though I was afraid of heights, I was also sick
of simply sliding into the river to climb back up the rock and go to the same
place. I was one of the older younger kids, so none of my cousins that I played
with dared to jump off. The end of the day was coming, and we all had to go
back and shower. My mom called me back and I went over to dry off. I remember
taking a look back at the rock and begging my mom to let me go over one more time.
Since she was exhausted and didn’t want to listen to my begging and whining,
she allowed one more “slide” and went to go pack up my family car. My dad was
still being lazy, lounging in a beach chair and watched me paddle over to the massive
rock. Not really realizing what I was
doing, I closed my eyes and ran off the edge of the cliff. When I hit the water
I was so proud of myself, for getting over my fear.
When I swam back, I was too overconfident
with the fact that I had jumped. However, I did not realize that I had done it
with a tube around my waist that I was holding onto. My parents were both
screaming at me, because although I did not realize it as a child, the impact
could have snapped both of my wrists since they were around the edge of the
tube, and I could have possibly drowned. However after a healthy dose of
scolding, my parents “forgot” about it later that night around the campfire.
My cousins and I were always at a separate
campfire than my parents, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents. We were trusted
to toast our own marshmallows and watch after the “babies” who in all reality
were more 5 and 6 year olds, we just felt important if they called them babies.
One of my cousins went to use the bathroom, and came back and grabbed my
shoulder. He was several years younger than me, and told me that he had seen a
polar bear. Even though I was not by any means an adult at that point in my
life, I was still certain that polar bears were nowhere to be found in New
Hampshire. I turned around and not even 20 feet into the woods was a huge
grizzly bear.
I immediately ran as fast as I could
to the connecting site, where my dad and uncles were sitting. I told them about
the bear and I still, to this day, have never seen any of them move so fast.
They grabbed any sort of pot or pan that was close by and made as much noise as
possible.
The lessons I learned that day were,
while something may seem like a good idea, I still had to consider the
repercussions before I acted, also, no matter how scared I was in any
situation, my dad will take care of it.mportant if they called them babies.
One of my cousins went to use the bathroom, and came back and grabbed my
shoulder. He was several years younger than me, and told me that he had seen a
polar bear. Even though I was not by any means an adult at that point in my
life, I was still certain that polar bears were nowhere to be found in New
Hampshire. I turned around and not even 20 feet into the woods was a huge
grizzly bear.
I immediately ran as fast as I could
to the connecting site, where my dad and uncles were sitting. I told them about
the bear and I still, to this day, have never seen any of them move so fast.
They grabbed any sort of pot or pan that was close by and made as much noise as
possible.
The lessons I learned that day were,
while something may seem like a good idea, I still had to consider the
repercussions before I acted, also, no matter how scared I was in any
situation, my dad will take care of it.
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