MS post – Memory of a Stolen Moment

Recently a friend posted on Facebook a picture of their daughter sitting on the edge of a rocky overhang. Reminded me of our son Dan and his adventurous/scary things he did and still does. When we would go for hikes like at Backbone State Park he would always run up to the edge of an overhang and look over. Usually scared me to death. Fast-forward to when I'm 50.
For my 50th birthday my son Dan took me up to Door County in Wisconsin to go kayaking. On my 50th birthday we circumnavigated Rock Island. When I was 50 I knew there was something wrong with me but I had not been diagnosed yet. I was pretty wobbly and kept rolling my left ankle over. So I was not real steady but we went anyway.
The day before my birthday we hiked over to the edge of a cliff on Rock Island. I was standing on the edge just like he would've done 30 years earlier and was looking down at about a 50 foot drop off. Of course I was wobbling. It was so funny because he yelled at me to move back from the edge and said "what are you doing so close you're scaring me!" I thought it was very, very funny that the tables were turned.
Looking back now I know MS was really messing with me and I probably should not have done what we did. Hiking and kayaking were not the safest thing to do in my condition but I feel like I stole it from MS.
The day we kayaked back to Washington Island, where our vehicle was, there were 4 to 5 foot waves because of the North wind blowing toward the island. They were the largest waves I have are kayaked in. I must admit I was very scared. It was very difficult and I think we barely made it back even though it was less than a mile. It was a little intimidating to be on top of a wave and be looking down at Dan at the bottom of the wave. We did make it back okay and if I hadn't I would've just blown onto the bank of Washington Island and would've been safe. When I kayaked I always had a backup plan and that was it. It was still pretty scary and I did not want to be blown into the Rocky bank behind me. I now look back on that trip and am very proud. It is one of my fondest memories especially since I stole it from MS.