Bridge Jumping

I love my coworkers. They are hard-working, fun-loving people, and there is an energy in my office that is incredibly surprising for a government office. I would do a lot to join in the office camaraderie and be part of the office culture.

Even jump off a bridge.

A few weeks before I went to Montana on a work trip, my coworker Allison told me about this "bridge" that everyone jumps off of into the water. "Are you going to jump?" she asked. "It's super fun. Paul will show you where it is."

"Oh yeah, of course. I love bridge jumping," I replied, thinking that this was like a 10-15 foot bridge into a nice lake.

A few days later Matthew, another coworker, asked if I was going to jump off the bridge. He actually asked me (and everyone else going to Montana) several times.

This was obviously a big deal. Of course I was going to jump off this bridge. After all, my mortal fear of deep water was not enough to keep me from jumping off the bridge when all of my other coworkers had done it, even my boss!

When we pulled in to Bigfork we drove over the bridge. My coworker pointed it out and I thought, no big deal. It's really not that high (as I secretly tried to calm my pounding heart at the thought of getting into the water).

And then I saw the bridge from far away.

 It's really high!

I almost had a heart attack just thinking about jumping off that thing. Not only would I have to deal with deep water, I would also have to deal with the 40 foot drop before I slammed into the water!

 But like President Uchtdorfs story in this month's home teaching message, I was committed. After I saw Paul and Matthew jump, it only took about 5 minutes up on top of the bridge with my coworker telling me that I really didn't have to do this before I decided that I love jumping off bridges. I was going to do this.

 Two things helped seal the deal for me. 1-I took out my contacts before I got in the water. This was incredibly important--because I had limited depth perception and couldn't really tell how far away the water was. 2--Paul was trying to be nice and kept telling me that I didn't have to jump, that no one would think any less of me if I just turned around and walked back down the slope. This might work with normal people, but it only fueled the fire. I was going to prove that I could jump off this bridge! (The fact that Paul and Matthew had already done it and I knew it was safe helped immensely, though!)

The scariest part was the lack of ledge on the outside of the railing. You actually had to climb over the railing, with cars driving by and shaking the bridge, and stand on the 1-inch hangover until you jumped.

  And then I jumped.

 Unfortunately my gut reaction kicked in before I remembered how high it was and I plugged my nose at the top. By the time I finally surfaced I was WAY out of air.

 My beautiful form only made a tiny little splash!

In the end, was it worth it? Definitely. All of the military officers that I work with were with us in Montana. And they were all astounded and impressed that I jumped from the bridge (maybe they were more surprised that I lived through it?). I heard about it for days afterward.

So tips for bridge jumping? 1-Have someone up there with you. 2-Take your contacts out so you can't see how far it is. 3-Have a proud and competitive personality that is always trying to prove something. 4-Don't let the icy water get to you. 5-Make sure you know how to swim. 6-And most importantly, don't try it unless you know there are no sharp rocks, boats, ropes, or a shallow bottom to paralyze you for life.