Addendum.

After the somewhat surprising amount of venom in my last post, I figured it was time for me to get taken down a notch, which is exactly what happened the next day. Allow me to elaborate.

I teach aerial technique and conditioning, and sometimes hoop, at the venerable Emerald City Trapeze Arts. The most distinguishing thing about this beloved space is the righteous flying trapeze rig inside, and the constant presence of people willing and eager to jump from the 40 foot high platform and plummet through the air at a barely controlled pace.
Very distinguishing characteristic.
So everyone is very surprised to find out that I have never, myself, toppled off the platform of my own accord. My reasons were plentiful: not attracted to the apparati, don't want to divide my focus, blablabla. All true. But it turns out that it is super lame to work at a flying trapeze school without once flying on the trapeze.

So I stayed after my class some deigned Thursday with a collection of rockin people to try it out. During my first swing, even though I swore I wouldn't, I ending up screaming "holy f**k BALLS!!!" After my second swing, I remembered that I don't enjoy rollercoasters, speedy driving, or even swinging big on a swing set. I started to think perhaps this wasn't for me. When I crawled off the net that second time, my uterus clamped around my IUD like a fist, in a psychosomatic response to my nerves, causing me to double up in pain. When it refused to unclamp, I eventually threw in the towel, taking of my line belt and officially ending my flying trapeze career, sitting the rest of the class out.

I have a whole new respect for the people that come into our studio to fly. I'm in the back, on my hoop or doing conditioning, watching these people walk through the door from their desk jobs or freelance writing careers, climb up that 40 foot ladder, and jump off the platform without a backward glance. I am amazed. How are they doing this? My first attempt, I had been doing aerial for nearly 3 years, and trust my hands to hold me up and my shoulders to be strong. Some of these women have beautiful little tiny hands and couldn't do a push up, but fearlessly dive through the air to the tune of someone they've never met telling them what to do.

And maybe I'm just a control freak, but I'll stick to spinning in my hoop and having power over the momentum, and continue to possess a slackjawed reverence for these crazy brave people who possess an aspect of freedom that I do not. There is some inherent love of falling that people have...I don't have it. After that second run, I knew without a doubt I was 100% happy with never doing it again. Shaun can't get enough of it, and what's more he's really good at it, out of nowhere. World, once again, you have caught me by surprise.