Long Over Due River Therapy

I’ve always been a water child.  As displayed partially on the post about my swimsuit addiction.  When winter drags on, as it did this year, I daydream of hot days on sand beaches with cool water nearby.  Occasionally swift water moving under a tube as we float down the river.  My daydreams always include bikinis, tan lines, warm weather, and cool waters.  Not super cold waters though… after all the arthritis and fibro don’t like ice water any longer.

For years I’ve been day dreaming of having kayak/tubing time with my kids.  For years I’ve been down graded that I’m not strong enough, not coordinated enough, not energetic enough, and basically stupid for wanting to have fun in the currents.  Me and my dreams were useless.  For the last 5 years I almost got to a point of “maybe I’m crazy for wanting to go back to that part of me”.  I quit verbalizing my desires to be on the water in the last couple years.  I didn’t want to hear the negativity that always tore me to pieces again.  Negativity that always indicated that I’m just not good enough for anything.

This year I was determined to have our summer be fun.  Not like last summer; spent sulking in the house, vomiting, only focusing on the The Shattering.  This summer is the summer of strength and resiliency.  The summer of adventure.  Just as our family decided it should be.

This is the year of water therapy.

The water babies and I decided last fall that the water was where we all wanted to be.  They wanted to start floating the rivers like we once did in Montana on vacation.  They wanted to try kayaking.  They, like me, crave the feel of a current under them.  They want to learn about currents, to learn about rapids, to experience the outdoors on the water.  We determined that entertainment money for the next several months would go toward the purchase of the gear we’d need to be safe on the water.  We made a team effort to cut spending.  To have a common goal.  We managed to get everything we’d need to start our adventures just as spring hit.  It did help that spring was almost 2 months late this year, but we won’t hold that over Mother Nature’s head for too long!  Maybe she knew we just needed that extra month to get set up.

With no support coming in, and my bills for a household of 5, I had to come up with ways to get gear without breaking the bank.  I didn’t know how many of the water babies would actually take to this adventure.  How many would stick with it long term.  How many would hit the river once and decide it wasn’t for them.  So I went to work attempting to find an alternative purchase that wouldn’t break the bank.  I mean have you seen the cost of kayaks in general?  WOWSERS!  I couldn’t afford to outfit everybody on a single income and no support.  I’d have to work a year of strenuous overtime to gear up that way!  My body would give out on me.

So I got creative.

In my research I tripped across a newer product by Intex.  Yup, the maker of affordable above ground pools, and pool toys, has branched out in the last few years.  They’ve expanded their line into inflatable recreation products.  Intrigued by their inflatables I started to do some digging.  Turns out inflatable kayaks have been popular in other countries for years.  Intex was among some of the best rated options.

I was a little concerned that an inflatable would burst on the rapids, or by brushing up against a fallen tree.  I mean, we are in Virginia.  While the rapids are not exactly the whitewater of my native Montana (for the most part), the potential of finding fallen trees on the water is pretty impressive.  I didn’t want to get something that would snag once and we’d be swimming the rest of the way.

After finding videos and stellar reviews of  the Intex Explorer K2 kayak (2 person) I decided this was an excellent place to start.  I’d LOVED my inflatable dingy as a kid.  It was my jumping off point for water fun.  Why not start here with the kids?  I was most impressed with the videos showing how well these inflatables handle whitewater very much like my native Montana waters. The design seemed to be rugged, and have safety in mind.  I started pricing them out.

While still an investment that would dictate the need for several floats this first season, it was a much more reasonable and achievable possibility than traditional gear.  So we had a family meeting.  It was decided that the inflatables were going to be the way we got started.  The kids were excited, and loved the look of the “floating bannanas”; I was picking up steam on this becoming a reality.  My excitement was growing with every purchase.  With every step of getting closer to our family adventure goals.  Basically as every month passed by.

Let the adventures begin!

As school ended, for 75% of the kids, we started up our water adventures.  The kids were hooked immediately!  Broken Girl loves the peacefulness of the float.  Although she may be confused a bit… kayaks get sat in, not paddled like paddle boards.  Maybe some year we will need to look into a paddle board for this one.  Welding Boy is a water creature by nature, so he’s at home.  He nearly falls asleep in the calmer areas.  Flamingo Girl spends more time swimming like a mermaid in the current than in the inflatables.  Reminds me of me in my younger years.  Movie Boy started the summer off with summer school.  No Bueno.  He has missed out on so much, but once he hit the water you could see he was in love.

Movie Boy has no fear, has nothing but respect for the water, and loves to be in control of his own kayak.  He was not a fan of sharing a boat.  As he has a hard time finding physical things he does well, and loves, when he expressed an interest in having his own boat I cut him a deal.  Finish summer school with 90% or better (average scores);  I’d get him his own “real” kayak.  Now that support has finally started to come in the last couple months, this was a viable option.  Turns out he was up to the challenge.  He exceeded my 90% average and he received his very own 6′ starter kayak (non-inflatable).  You should see him zoom all over the river!  He shoots the rapids, paddles up stream, studies the currents, races the other kids…. he’s truly engaged and confident.  Seeing his confidence develop has been refreshing and amazing.

This summer the water babies and I have made the time to hit the river weekly.  Basically whenever I’m off work.  Sometimes multiple days a week.  It’s amazing the therapeutic effects the water has on all of us.  Tempers are not as short.  We tend to work together as a team more.  We get along better after some hot sun and cool water.  It also helps that we found another family that loves floating as much as we do.  They go with us most of the time.  So much fun to spread out and have a good time with great friends!

This kind of fun and adventure has been LONG over due.  We deserve to have fun, and do things that we enjoy, rather than what we were told we should enjoy.  Things we are actually engaged in.  Things that promote us working together and having fun as a family unit.  Things that allow our individual personality and styles to show through.  To make us stronger at the end of the day. Who knows, maybe we’ll do some fun water based family vacations when we can.  There is a whole country of waterways at our fingertips!

Our new life is about finding the things we truly enjoy, that make us better for each other; give us a better quality of life.  I couldn’t be happier with the progress we’ve made and the family wide efforts to achieve new life goals.  I can’t wait to see what else develops.  What else presents its self to us in the future.  This really is a second chance at a whole new world.