Hysteria from a Turkish Lady

So I know I have done a horrible job blogging in the recent months.  We have been on the go go go so much recently, and when Wade and I are at home... I like to be HOME and not piddle with other things.  I have not talked at all about our fabulous trip to Antigua back in April!  There are so many funny stories to tell about that trip, but one came to mind today when I was on my lunch break.  This song came on my XM radio called "The One You Need" by Shane & Shane.  There is a line about your laughter being music to my ears.  I started trying to remember the last time I belly laughed.  Like the deep down coming from the tips of your toenails belly laugh.  This story came to mind...
Wade and I wanted to take the aqua bikes out so bad while we were on our trip.  The wind was to bad, but the worker guy said we could take the kayak out if we were really good paddlers.  I was like SURE we are!  I have been lifting weights at the gym for 4 months now.  Just call me GI Jane.  We took the kayak out.  Pictures really help paint the picture of this day!

We were paddling out for a few minutes and then just sat there in awe of the great big ocean around us, not at all concerned about something like this:

We turned around to see how far away from the resort we were.   It looked something like this...seriously... this is a picture from my camera back at our resort:

Our faces looked something like this:

We were getting closer and closer to this:

Now would be a good time to mention that when we were learning how to sail on the Hobbie Cats (another post for another day) the locals told us not to sail to island pictured above because there are sharks out here.  We "affectionately" began to call this island, Shark Island.

We began to frantically try to paddle back to shore, seriously now afraid of this:

We were like dumb and dumber out there.  My days as a girl scout at girl scout camp came flooding to memory as I told Wade to "rutter this way" or "paddle this way" or "1, 2, 1, 2".  This is all that was occurring:

Going in CIRCLES.  You know what else goes in circles?!?!? These guys:

The wind and the waves were so strong combined with the current that while we were not paying a bit of attention to the time or what was going on around us, we got sucked out to sea!  It was very frightening.  The resort saw us frantic and the they came to rescue us and one other kayaking couple, who was also lost at sea, on a jon boat that looked like this (except it was white and had one more row of seats):

The other couple that got picked up was really only half a couple.  The boyfriend got attacked by a shark at shark island!  No not really - had you going for a minute there didn't I.  The couple was actually in two kayaks he flipped his and she left him out there and then she got lost at sea!  He managed to swim his way back to shore, kayak and paddle in tow, in his wienie bikini while she was screaming for help.  They were much closer to the resort than we were.

So here comes the jon boat.  The waves are crazy, insane, choppy ones.  We have to get out of the kayak by shark island, hoist the kayak and paddles into the jon boat and then push ourselves up into the boat out of the ocean.  I looked like a fish out of water slipping and sliding everywhere. I  had a nice bruise on my shin to prove it.

The girl who was rescued was from England but was Turkish.  In the amount of time her wienie bikini boyfriend swam to shore, and the resort worker "Jamie" came to get her and then come to pick us up, she managed to convince him to take her for a boat ride in the jon boat around shark island.  Let me tell you - this girl was a loud, crazy, loved life type of girl.  We were like ok. Here we go.  So Jamie takes the three of us on a short ride to the cliffs (which he is not supposed to do).  The Turkish woman is screaming "MORE! MORE! MORE!"

Wade is rolling his eyes like "get me off this boat".  I am thinking - yeah - we need to get off this boat.  Jamie says "no we are done with the ride", but she somehow convinces him to go back to shore, pick up here English boyfriend wearing his wienie bikini and take us for a ride around shark island.  We pull up to pick up wienie bikini.  He is thigh deep in the ocean just-a-wavin' at us.  Wade and I start to get out the boat.  The Turkish woman grabbed my arms and said "NO! You MUST STAY! AHHHHhahahahaha".  OK - we must stay.  Wienie bikini gets in the boat and sits on the middle bench with his girlfriend and Wade.  I was sitting by myself on the front bench.  Well - Jamie takes the jon boat FULL THROTTLE around shark island.  When we looped around shark island we were coming straight at the waves. The boat would crash down on them with an enormous "THUD", enough to take your breath away.  It looked and felt something like this:

The waves were crashing, the boat was thudding, we were getting SOAKED from the waves splashing on us.  Turkish lady comes and sits next to me and grabs my hand and we laughed, and then we laughed harder, and harder and harder.  I had tears coming out of my eyes and could not catch my breath I was laughing so hard.  It was probably a release from not being eaten by a shark and the craziness of what we were doing after being lost at sea and the shock of the ocean spraying all up in my face!  I felt so carefree!  I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard. If someone had a camera on my face it would have looked something like this:

Wade was thinking, my wife is laughing like a kid holding Turkish lady's hand, as we ride around shark island on a jon boat as I sit back here next to wienie bikini.... what in the world!

It was a glorious feeling to laugh that hard. It felt so good.  God puts every person in  your life for a reason, even for the smallest reason.  I think he put wienie bikini, Jamie and the Turkish girlfriend in my life to remind me to laugh. I do not do it enough. But more over, the Turkish girlfriend reminded me to laugh hysterically, from the tips of my toenails.  Life isn't that serious, and I need to stop treating it as such.  The song I heard today made me think of this amazing story.  I hope this has inspired you to think of a time when you laughed like that and to laugh at the beautiful life we all have.  Good story.  Here are the lyrics to the song that inspired this post:

 

The One You Need

Shane & Shane   

Hey hey sweet daughter
I am so proud to be your father
Each day is like a gift from God

Hey hey sweet daughter
There’s no music like your laughter
And your smile is like a rising sun

You know I loved you from the start
So come in close
Take my hand for
Daddy shares his heart

I wish that I could be your everything
Be the one to give you all the things you need
Sometimes I’m gonna let you down
But there’s Someone if you just believe
Be your hero like He’s always been for me
Darling, Jesus is the one you need

No matter what you walk through
He will always love you
Just the way you are
For there’s nothing in this world
That I’d walk for my baby girl
That she’ll be happy ever after

The story of your life is still untold
I pray the King of all the Universe
Would make your heart His own

I wish that I could be your everything
Be the one to give you all the things you need
Sometimes I’m gonna let you down
But there’s Someone if you just believe
Be your hero like He’s always been for me
Darling, Jesus is the one

Who will never leave
He’s been there all along
All ready You can find to love

I wish that I could be your everything
Be the one to give you all the things you need
Sometimes I’m gonna let you down
But there’s Someone if you just believe
Be your hero like He’s always been for me
Darling, Jesus is the one you need