Falling Off

In 2006, the family went on a cruise to Mexico. There were a few stops along the way, and one of the things my Dad and I did together was parasailing and then we rented a jet ski after and rode out. My Dad was driving and I sat behind him, listening to him laugh with complete joy as we went over the wakes of others, as he pushed the machine faster, as we bounced and got sprayed and, again, joyous laughter from us both.

At one point he stopped the jet ski, and asked me over his shoulder if I was ready for it to go as fast as it could. There was nothing but open water. We could see the shore, boats were around, but no one would be in our way. I nodded, and he turned the handle to accelerate.

I held on tight, closed my eyes, laughed, got sprayed, and eventually got bounced right off the jet ski. He turned around to get me but in trying to get me up, he fell off of it himself. Together we struggled a good 20 minutes to get back onto that machine, still smiling but getting tired. Finally the owner of the place we rented it from came out. He got my Dad on the jet ski, put me on the boat, and back to the shore we went.

By the time we got back on the cruise ship, we were both exhausted. No blame, no unhappiness, just 'damn, that ending was harsh'. Pretty certain we both napped for a few hours before dinner.

I don't know that either of us ever told anyone how much we both struggled that afternoon just trying to get back on the jet ski. I think I blamed the sun for my exhaustion (a valid excuse), but I didn't want to ruin the rest of the fun we had by telling people about the less-than-stellar ending. The three hours we had together on the ocean was the part to be remembered, it was what mattered, it was where the joy was. The end was just... harder than we expected, and it meant it was time to pack it in.

I have told a few people about the last few days with my Dad, but in general I haven't gone into any great detail. It's unnecessary. It may diminish the other 40-plus years somehow, in other people's minds. They might remember this 'harsh ending', whereas I want to remember all the fun stuff, the things that are worth remembering. It's not that the ending isn't to be discussed, endings are important after all, but it is so very far from the whole story.

That jet ski ending doesn't capture a day that included bartering on the streets, or grabbing a pineapple smoothie, or being dipped in the water while parasailing, or laying out on the beach, or feeling the spray of the water as we went faster and faster on the jet ski, or hearing the truest joyous laugh for a solid thirty minutes. The end doesn't capture all of it, it just describes the briefest part of an event. And it certainly doesn't capture all the fun that was had.