Skydiving, Connecticut Parachutists, Ellington Airport

Here are some Skydiving photos of our trip to Connecticut Parachutists at Ellington Airport in Ellington, CT. As any parent would usually do, I asked my daughter Kayla what she wanted for her 19th birthday. Well, she already has a car, a laptop, a blackberry and an iPod. So her answer was simple...I want to go Skydiving.

Now, I'm all for living on the edge and everything, but at this stage in my life I was over wanting to jump out of a plane...or so I thought. (read on)

I offered to bring her to the airport, pay for her to jump, and take pictures from the ground up, but she would have none of that she said. I would need to go with her or she didn't want to go. So, guess what daddy did.....yup.

Now that wasn't the hard part! No way, the hardest part for me was having to diet and keep a close eye on my weight if I was planning to jump. You see, they have a scale there and a weight limit for jumpers...and of course I was over the limit.

So, I had to diet hard and fast in order to meet the requirements.

Some people are passionate about certain things. Me? I'm passionate about food and photography. So it wasn't easy and I didn't have more than a couple of weeks, but I was on a mission. The things we parents do for our kids huh?

Well, I reached my goal and was able to jump with my daughter.

The feeling of pure adrenaline, excitement, fear, and the many other ones that I experienced were nothing short of awesome! What a great feeling that was. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm glad I was able to share it with my daughter.

I also must say, I didn't think the day could possibly get any better!
Then, it did.

Later that day, while checking the statuses of all my Facebook friends, I saw a comment that Kayla had posted on her wall for all of her friends to see. It said "Went skydiving with my dad. Just got back. Best day ever. Dad is my HERO.

I can't imagine that those last words she said are heard much by us parents from our teenaged children, but when I read those words...I got all choked up. My 19 year old daughter thinks I'm cool!

And for however long that thought inside her head lasts in real time, which I imagine won't be so very long, I will forever hold those words deep inside my heart, because for me, jumping out of a plane to hear those words was so worth it. Would I do it again? You betcha! Only if she comes with.