White sand. Turquoise water. Warm Sunshine. Destin, Florida.
Have I got your attention yet?
Destin holds somewhat of a special place in Josh’s and my heart. It was the very first long distance trip that we took together. Actually, we went down with my parents while we were dating. And, it was a fabulous trip! We enjoyed the food, the beach, and … most especially… renting a double kayak!
Now, you might be wondering why the kayak trip made it to the top of the list. You might even guess that it was because it was such a magical ride. But, in reality, it was the hardest thing that we had been through as a couple.
In our relationship, Josh is our decision maker. Where to eat, what to do, etc. etc. He usually decides it all. And I, being the great indecisive person, thanks him. (Because, otherwise, we would starve.)
So, while in Destin, Josh had the idea to go double kayaking. I excitedly agreed, and we jumped in the kayak. But, there was just one problem. I had never been in a kayak. Let alone, a kayak on the ocean. Plus, my arm strength is laughable. ( I can do ONE push-up people!) Needless to say, I was excited but also very anxious about the whole situation.
And, in that moment, I wanted Josh to come up with a plan, so I could feel more comfortable. However, while in our double kayak, Josh wanted to relax and just let the water take us where it may.
Can you see where this is going?
We struggled. I would ask him to make decisions and he would ask if we could just relax. We weren’t in sync, we weren’t communicating, and we weren’t going anywhere. As we got more and more frustrated, it finally clicked. We had to work together. (Duh!) Neither one of us could just make a decision. We had to come up with a plan together. That’s the only way that we were going to make this trip (and our paddles) work. From there, we ended up tremendously enjoying the rest of our kayaking experience!
So, why does it remain at the top of our list? Because it helped us learn more about us Until then, Josh and I had never struggled together. We had never experienced a situation in which we didn’t work well together. And we had never seen each other in tense circumstances. We learned a great deal from it.
And now, we actually encourage couples to go double kayaking together! We think it is a great way to learn to work together. And we think fondly about the experience we had.
So, while in Destin the past two days, we knew what we had to do. We had to go kayaking. It was a must. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go double kayaking, but we enjoyed it just the same! BONUS: While kayaking, a dolphin and her baby just happened to be in the bay with us!!! Guys, I was literally freaking out!!! We were so excited about it, and paddled around with the dolphins until they left the bay! It might even beat our first kayaking experience!!!
Moral of the story: Go kayaking with your honey…. and try to see dolphins along the way. 😉
