More Than A Jump (At Least For Me)

A couple weeks ago, I went skydiving for the first time with my son. It started as just me wanting to go skydiving and not having anyone to go with, then my son asked to go for his Christmas gift last year. But it ended up being so much more.

As I've shared before, my son was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 13. It had spread to his lungs, and he went through treatment and follow-ups throughout his teenage years. We chose to go skydiving in Fargo, North Dakota since it's close to family and one of the nearest options for us.

Between all the scheduling and rescheduling due to weather, and trying to squeeze our jump in before a vacation and my son leaving for college, we ended up going the day after his last visit with his pediatric endocrinologist. He's not done with follow-ups, but at 18, he's moving to a regular endocrinologist now. The great news is he's done with treatment and in remission.

My son was diagnosed and had his cancer surgeries in Fargo, and as I thought about this after our jump and on the drive home, it felt like a really nice way to bookend this chapter of his life. My son wasn't thinking about any of this, though. For him, it was just a chance to go skydiving - and he loved it. And so did I!

I was pretty nervous about making the jump. I don't have many things on my bucket list - mostly places I want to travel - but this was one of them, and I was thrilled to do it with my son! Parents of teenagers know that getting to do anything with them is usually a treat! And to share something this big was amazing in itself. The feeling of free falling was like nothing else and surprisingly not scary AFTER getting out of the plane. (Getting out of the plane with an open door was terrifying, and I don't think I could've done it if I wasn't strapped to another human for our tandem jump).

My son leaves for college in two weeks to start a new chapter in his life. Closing the "cancer" chapter and opening this new one full of possibilities makes this mama's heart so happy.

Turns out, for me, our jump together was more than just a jump - it's a memory I'll treasure forever! (Note: we actually had to jump separately because the plane was small, so sadly, I don't have any photos of us in the air together).