I almost lost my friend's jet ski last week. Almost. Thank goodness Diana is better at accepting help than I am.
My former boss-turned -friend, Shane, generously lent us his lake house for a weekend so that we could do a safe getaway before school started. We love spending time on the lake, and it was perfect timing for our annual girls' getaway. Because Shane and his wife are amazing people, they encouraged us to make full use of everything they had at the house, including the jet ski. I assured Shane that I have my boating license, that I have been on jet skis more times than I can count, that we would wear our life jackets and be super careful. He told us to have fun and that the keys were in the key box (an important detail that we will come back to later).
Of all the things that we love about the lake, riding jet skis is at the top of the list. Since Diana was big enough to hold on, we have loved going out together, up and down the lake, with her pointing which direction to go and me manning the controls. So, needless to say, we were very excited about that part of our girls' getaway.
On our first day there, we headed down to the dock, ready to go out on our big adventure. Slathered in sunscreen and trussed up in our life jackets, I uncovered the jet ski and Diana hopped on. I asked her to put my phone in the center console (secured safely in a Ziploc bag to keep it protected from any lake spray), and when she opened the console, she discovered the lanyard with the key. Perfect! I guessed that they had left the key in there by mistake instead of the key box and was pumped for our good luck in finding the key so quickly.
The only thing left to do was shove off and go for the ride. Diana got on board, and I started pushing the jet ski off the ramp into the water. My plan was to get it as close as I could to the water, hop on behind her and then, ease the jet ski into the water to start it up. Apparently, I don't know how strong I am because I completely overshot the mark and shoved the jet ski, with Diana on it, straight out into Smith Lake.
I had a moment of panic once I realized what I had done, but was trying to stay calm so Diana didn't start to panic as well. She actually started laughing and yelled at the top of her lungs "Momma, you pushed too hard! Now what are you going to do?" I assured her that I had everything under control, and announced my new plan to jump into the water, swim to the jet ski and pull myself up. "Just hold on to the key, buddy, okay?" She held up her wrist, grinning, to show me that the lanyard was secured safely.
I jumped in, swam to the jet ski, and awkwardly pulled myself up on the jet ski. Huffing and puffing, I settled in behind her and got ready to ride. We put the key on and hit the start button.
Nothing.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Diana, in all of her 7-year-old wisdom, said, "Let me try" and mashed the start button down as hard as she could with her little hand.
Nothing.
Now, I was really starting to panic. I had visions of us in the middle of Smith Lake, adrift, for hours. I was racking my brain for potential reasons that it wouldn't start and potential solutions. I got my phone out of the console and texted Shane to ask if there was a sneaky trick to getting the jet ski started (trying to sound casual, and definitely not like I was texting from the middle of the lake). Then, I started searching the internet to see if there was a Coast Guard or something like it on the lake (for the record, there is not.). All the white, Diana was peppering me with questions and comments, and I finally told her that I needed her to just be quiet for a few minutes so I could think. The best plan I could come up with was to get back in the water, tug it behind me while I swam back to the dock, tie it up next to the dock, leave a note to explain and change my name and leave the country.
Then, I heard Diana yell out, "Yes, we need help." I looked up to see who she was talking to, and there on the boat dock next to Shane's house were his neighbors, just back from a boat ride. They had called out to us a few times already, but I was so focused on my phone that I didn't realize that they were offering assistance. Thank God that Diana was paying attention and was willing to accept the help!
Mike, the neighbor, came out on his boat and towed us back to the dock. While we were being towed, Shane called, having seen through my casual text ruse, and told me about another key fob thingy that we needed to first unlock the jet ski before using the key on the lanyard. Mike held on to the jet ski while Diana and I ran up to the house to grab the magic key fob. Once we had the fob, the jet ski started right up and we were on our way.
There's a lesson in there somewhere - but for now, I am just grateful. Grateful for the chance to be on the lake in the first place, grateful for the neighbor coming by at the exact right time, and grateful that Diana was paying better attention to the help that was being offered than I was.
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