O.K., I'm back from my little adventure and now that I know how it went I can tell you what it is.

First off, I was inspired my this gal. A couple of weeks ago she did something very cool and I thought "That looks so fun! I wish I could do something like that".

It was just a fleeting thought and then I kind of forgot about it. I also had a list of excuses a mile long as to why I would never be able to do something like that.

Then a couple of days ago there was an e-mail in my in-box from my local FCC (Families With Children from China) chapter, asking people if they would be interested in joining their team.

I know, you don't know what I am talking about yet. Hang on. I'm getting there. So I opened the e-mail and read it again. Then put it back into the trash.

A couple of days later I opened it once again and read it. Only this time I replied to the e-mail, telling them that Yes, I would be interested in joining their team, and where and what time should I show up?

Then I told my husband about it. And he said

ARE YOU CRAZY? Do you not remember this little incident? I don't think you should do it. You are not in the best physical shape right now and after what happened on our hike I don't think you are ready and you shouldn't do it.

And I said "That was an isolated incident and I know I can do this and I'm doing it". So there. Okay, I didn't say that last part. But I thought it. And that little incident two weeks ago is exactly the reason I needed to do this. I wanted to prove to myself that I can do physical activities without being sent to the emergency room!

So today I drove thirty minutes into a city I don't know that well and is known for their parking issues. And I braved a crowd of people on Fourth of July weekend where I did a mighty fine job of parallel parking(if I do say so myself), in a very tight space, and then I met up with a group of complete strangers and practiced in one of these:

That's a Dragon Boat, in case you aren't familiar with them. So for the next three weeks I will be practicing with the team, and then on July 26th, I will compete with them in the Dragon Boat Festival, being held here. How cool is that?

I have to admit, I was very nervous and I almost chickened out. But I went and yes, it was hard, but I did it and I'm so glad I went! And guess what? There was no trip to the emergency room! Yay me!

So that's where you'll find me on Sundays(and a couple of Saturdays) for the month of July.

And thanks to Lea. Because if I hadn't followed along on her experience I never would have tried it. Not in a million years. Thanks Lea!


P.S. It is a "mixed"(men and women's) team and they are "non-competetive", meaning there are people of all abilities and even children(aged 12 and up) on the team, and they don't expect to win, or even place in the races. The emphasis is on teamwork and fun.