Monday, January 18, 2010

Have I Ever Mentioned I'm Afraid Of Heights?

Well I am. This here is a swinging bridge a mile up on Grandfather Mountain. Mr F thought it would be fun for us all to waste an entire day driving there and back IN JANUARY. It's fucking cold up at the top of a mountain with no wind barrier. There is a reason the welcome center plays a 5 minute film called "Grandfather Mountain In May" (or something like that).

I attempted to cross that damn bridge 5 or 6 times. But when you can see, feel, and HEAR it swaying?!.. um... no. It's not going to happen. I even gave up got in the car and then ran back up the stairs to try it again just in case it would have given me some huge sense of accomplishment to master my fear. I got about 1/4 of the way across then said "Nope. I don't need to overcome this. Crossing will just mean I have to cross it again to get back."

We all have our limits. This was mine.

12 comments:

Kiki said...

I have to fly in two weeks to Vegas...I'm trying to decide if I need to start taking the Xanax now...because while on the phone with Heather tonight I started crying that I have to get on a plane....its already bad and its two weeks out. So I get the fear part and respect that it was painful to do as much as you did.

inkelywinkely said...

I couldn't do it either..don't worry...I can't even look down when I am walking without getting sick. I'm only 5'7 and that is too high up. LOL

Preppy Mama said...

Oh I have an insane fear of heights. Bridges and Ferris Wheels are the worst. I was driving to college once and had to pull over and get out so my friend could drive over the bridge!!

Brenda said...

I'm with you Mrs. F. Yikes! And Preppy Mama too - seriously, what could be scarier than one of those giant ferris wheels?! Here's my question for you... did the girls go on this bridge? Because even thinking about my boys doing that is giving me a panic attack...

Mrs Furious said...

Preppy Mama,
You and me both on the ferris wheels. Every once and awhile I force myself to go on them (only the round kind... not the ski lift bench kind!!!!) and I pretty much fall to the floor of the booth and want to die.


Gigs,
Well Baby would not even get out of the car she was terrified. I first tried to cross with Kid while Mr F stayed with Baby. We took about 10 steps and turned around. She then went with Mr F and crossed it. I tried again without her because my fear level was ratcheted across when I was trying to take her. It's bad enough that I might die but I couldn't take her across. She did fine. She was scared but was very proud that she did it. I found the same thing at WDW on rollercoaters... I enjoy them but if I was riding with Kid I spent the whole time in protection mode and ended up so stressed it wasn't fun for me to go with her.


Kiki,
Get the drugs!!!


Inkelywinkely,
lol

Mrs Furious said...

Gigs,
"ratcheted across" = ratcheted up. I don't know what happened there with the brain hand connection ;)

Mr Furious said...

Yeah, my parental paranoia had me totally discombobulated as a photographer, and I had just about every setting on the camera wrong and screwed up most of the pictures—looking through the viewfinder at Kid standing on top of a mountain was even scarier than in reality.

That place is kept pretty close to natural, and the only places there were railings were on the bridge itself and the stairs up to the top. Everywhere else you were pretty free to roam as close to (or over) the edge as you wanted.

Yikes.

That makes it extra frightening. I'm not as heights-averse as Mrs F is, but I couldn't stop thinking that one tiny slip would send you (or Kid) 5,000 feet down, when in reality the edge might have been many yards away.

Loralei said...

The mere fact that you attempted it shows that you were brave. As far as rollercoasters, I will only go on them if there ARE cute little Disney characters waving me as I go to my doom. (But Space Mountain--forget it! Although I had a nasty experience on it when I was a kid where I slid down and had the seatbelt around my neck--the ride is different now.)

Sarah said...

i have been to grandfather mountain many times...i absolutely cannot cross that bridge. i did it once when i was 10 years old. now i cannot even think about it without my hands trembling and sweating. i can't even be near it now!

LPeterson said...

I hate ferris wheels and my kids know I never use the word hate and you can add roller coasters to that too.

Deb said...

I'm not afraid of heights. I'm afraid of man-made structures that are high up. I can rock climb ridiculous mountains, but add me to the list of people who will not ride ferris wheels, and driving across bridges scare the crap out of me. Imagine my joy when I drive across the Mississippi River a few times a week--over a bridge that was built because the old one fell down! In the snow! Yeah, that's a confidence builder.

I gotta go wipe off my palms now. The sweat is dripping into my keyboard.

Anonymous said...

Heights are scary. And a million times more scary with my kids. I would have been so not-so-secretly pleased that baby didnt want to cross! Definitely would have stayed with her and had a major panic attack about kid crossing...ugh...feeling nauseous for you right now..

I am PETRIFIED of ferris wheels. Thinking about going on one makes me sweaty and panicky. The thought of my kids on one brings me close to a panic attack. I am so afraid that they would look too far over/slip/etc..and they would fall.

I agree w/ the roller coasters. I like them (once they finish that first climb up--that sucks) but at disney the girls went on and I had a death grip on them the whole time afraid something would happen--definitely not as much fun for me.

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