Have a Healthy Respect for Water

“A healthy fear of the sea keeps you afloat.”

—Unknown

As we head into the holiday weekend, we expect many of you might have plans to engage in water sports. Our parents are heading to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort to try out the new waterslides installed this summer before they close them for the season. Maybe they’ll take us paddle boarding too. Ella always had a healthy respect for water, so we’ll let her cover this one.

Ella

From a young age, I enjoyed wading in the water. I would run around in ankle-deep water and enjoy every second, but I had zero interest in swimming despite Mom’s attempts to get me to try. She would get into the freezing water at the end of a hike and try to coax me in, but I would always head straight to shore. I was content with wading.

One afternoon we were at a river after a hike and some rafters came by. I had never seen a raft before and got really excited. I thought it was so cool that they could be out in the middle of the river on a floatation device. I showed my excitement by running back and forth, watching them the whole time they were in sight.

Mom loved the water from the time she was a kid. She told me about days when she would spend hours in the pool in the backyard of her childhood home. She grew up in New Hampshire, where there were a lot of bodies of water nearby. There was a large pond and two lakes within a few miles of home, so she used to water ski as a kid and later got a kayak. When she moved out on her own, she lived near a river and a reservoir, and in summer she would kayak at least once a week. Mom always loved the ocean too, even though she lived at least an hour away from New Hampshire’s bit of coastline. When she moved to Colorado, it was hard for her to be so far away from the ocean and there weren’t many lakes and rivers nearby. But she found places to use her kayak, and later her stand-up paddle board, and most of her vacations involved visiting the ocean.

That’s why she was so intent on bringing me to the ocean so that I could experience it myself. She drove in the car with Mala and me for three days each way to bring us to California. Dad wasn’t a fan of road trips at the time and didn’t have as much vacation time from work, so he flew in a plane to meet us. Mala and I were so excited to see him when we picked him up from the airport. I enjoyed running around on the beach, and chasing the water back out after a wave would break. But, when a new wave would start coming towards me, I would high tail it out of there. I didn’t trust water that came after me! The ocean also tasted funny, so I definitely did not drink it! Even though we didn’t love the ocean water as much as Mom, she was content that we at least loved the beach.

Lakes and reservoirs are mostly safe to enjoy from a paddle board, but always pay attention to the weather, to which way the wind is blowing, and if there’s a current. Paddle against the current and wind on the way out, so that when you start to get tired and turn around, you’ll be moving with it on the way back and won’t have to paddle as hard.

We had a lot of great experiences on the water, but we also had one scary experience on a Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) at Union Reservoir in Colorado. There weren’t any storms in the forecast, so we headed out as a family. I was on Mom’s board and Mala was on Dad’s. When we were out in the middle of the lake, the wind picked up and it was fierce! It was so strong it blew all of us who were out on the lake to the far east side. The wind even picked up some boards and flung them against the rocks. Mom was lucky to have me (the survivalist) on her board because my weight helped keep our SUP anchored while we tried to direct the board as the wind pushed us across the lake. When we got close to shore, I somehow fell off the SUP. At first, I was scared, but then I realized that the water was shallow enough that I could stand, so I immediately regained my cool.

Mom and Dad pulled the boards, and Mala and me, to safety, and Dad hitched a ride back to our car and came to pick us all up. Mala was pretty scared, but I told her everything would be okay because at least it wasn’t thundering! That experience wasn’t the best, but it didn’t deter me from wanting to do more paddle boarding.

I may not have been a swimmer, but I always enjoyed participating in water activities with Mom—safely! Bodies of water, like rivers, lakes, and the ocean, can be a lot of fun, but you also have to respect the power of water. Some rivers rush quickly and could pull you downstream if you’re not careful, so it’s best to stay where the water isn’t too deep. The beach is a blast, but the ocean is vast and powerful, and the waves are no joke. When in doubt, stay on shore!