The two times I have brought this up, my daughter, Elizabeth, has had the same response. “Are you sure you’ve got that right?” she queries, looking at me like part of my brain has fallen out.
Yes, I am sure I have it right. Kite boarding IS the fastest growing water sport for SENIORS. This video of Mary Hammond-Tooke, a 63-year-old former mid-wife as she dips and slices through Pamlico Sound, NC, at close to 30 miles per hour will inspire.
Kiteboarding, one of the new 100 words added to the dictionary along with dwarf planet, racino and netroots, seems to resonate with some forgotten longing to fly or perhaps, a naughty wish to do something we’re not supposed to want to do.
Why is the over-50 set embracing an activity that drags you through water, requires you wrestle a kite with a 25-foot wingspan with possibilities you’ll get to slingshot airborne or plow into the water?
Some say for the workout; others say they do it because it’s not that hard to learn. But I know why I want to do it. FOR THE THRILL OF IT. (I even like writing those words.)
Sabbatical choices offer up opportunities to volunteer, travel, learn and yes…do something that gets you just this side of ecstacy. Counting that aspect out when you are thinking of possibilities for your sabbatical just because you are old? Don’t you dare do that.
Susan (68), John (64) and Jerry (65) kiteboard all the time in Dewey Beach, Delaware and on Lake McConaught – a 20-mile-long reservoir in Nebraska where there’s a school call The Kite Ranch.
Me, I’m in the mesmerized state. Over the July 4th weekend at the beach, I watched a kiteboarder way down the beach for twenty minutes before I started walking up his way. Boy, did that look scary and fun. And in all honesty, I wanted to try it right then.
“Good day for this?” I asked, as the mid-40s guy exited in what looked like water logged combat equipment. “Little on the light side,” he replied.
While part of me wanted to blurt out my hidden desire to tackle this new sport. I decided to be better behaved. So far I’m a watcher….a curious one with high desire.
I think inside all of us…no matter what your age…is a deep yearning to try something bold. Part of planning every sabbatical has to do with “what if?” For many just the dream gives them a buzz. Other people are unsatisfied with just a buzz – they do it.
Many firms want to keep baby boomer talent, and sabbaticals afford the break to keep them energized. While friends might think you’re crazy and children appear to be baffled, nothing should hold you back from a thrill. Don’t you think?
Right now, I just have strong kite lust. How’s that from someone old enough to be your mother?
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