Cliff Jumping

When I was in college, one of the "cool" things to do was to go cliff jumping at the local abandoned rock quarry. While the setting was quite serene and beautiful, there was not enough money in the world that could be paid to me that would provide the inspiration to join the crowd in taking what seemed to me to be a 1000 foot leap into the lovely teal waters below. Extreme I know, I but that's how it appeared to me. Now, keep in mind, nearly every friend I had made this leap and they all lived to tell about it. They did not get attacked by the nests of water moccasins that I was sure were lurking below that pretty water. They did not hit the bottom of the quarry and find themselves paralyzed for life. They did not get caught in a mass of debris or "rock-quarry" weed ( as opposed to sea-weed) that entangled them to the point of drowning. Every single friend that made that leap popped right up out of that jewel toned water with eyes wide and smiles beaming. Not everyone chose to do it a second time, but they were glad to say they had done it once nonetheless...Another thing to scratch off the bucket list.



Now what is odd to me is that I would like to think my normal approach to life is one that is open to trying most anything once. Per the title of this new blog, my motto most of the time is "ok, let's try it...just for grins and giggles". Rock quarry jumping, however, simply did not carry that appeal.



I tell you all this because I am a bit embarrassed to say that this day and age of technology, social networking and information sharing is about as scary to me as jumping off a cliff into unknown waters, no matter how pretty they are. There are no water moccasins, but there are stalkers and identity theives. There is no chance of paralysis, but am I opening myself up to a locked up computer? I know there's no "rock-quarry" weed, but I do not want to become absorbed in this land of technology where I find myself drowning in the waters of the world wide web. But here I am, I am proud to say, no longer at the edge of the cliff, but mid-air in my free fall into a new world. Again, I know it sounds dramatic. It also makes me sound really old. With cliff jumping, I knew I could live the rest of my life grinning and giggling even if I chose not to make that jump. It was something I was deathly afraid of and I knew I was not necessarily going to be a better person for having done it. More experienced, maybe, but definitely not better.



Now I find myself 36 years old, single, living with an adorable dog in a lovely house, working in a job I enjoy with people I like very much, and my entire immediate family within 4 miles of me. Yet many of my friends that I hold near and dear in my heart are miles and miles away. I will confess that I have dipped my toes into the quarry waters and have become a facebook stalker. I read their posts and look at their pictures. I have come to love their children from afar. I smile at the wonderful people they have become. I enjoy knowing about their lives. All the while, I stand up on that cliff just watching. I have realized that something is missing. Unlike the rock quarry, I see now that by taking that leap into the great world of technology, I will be better. Letting the people I love have a glimpse into my life now and again is far more than scratching an item off a bucket list. It will make me better and happy because no longer will I be on the sidelines watching. I will be connected.



So, all that said, welcome to "grins n giggles galore" (the name "grins n giggles" was already taken so in true Tracy form, I added a spice of galore). I've just last night initiated a challenge to myself to take at least a picture a day. I was always taught that practice makes perfect and I know if I truly want to be a better photographer (I dabble at best now) that I must practice. So a picture a day it will be, for a while at least, and I thought this might be the perfect forum in which to kill two birds with one stone. Yes, I'm full of those old adages today. Again, enjoy...I look forward to the splash that comes from this big leap!