What do your parents think of your skydiving?

[Skydive2 1]

Well...my mom's got 70 jumps, dads got 3500 (and still jumps), grandfather has 1500 (and still jumps), and my grandmother has 120 or so, and I've got over 1000 in about 2 1/2 year's...so no one really cared. They'd probability be more worried if I didn't Jump

Lance

[skydivejersey 0]

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Well...my mom's got 70 jumps, dads got 3500 (and still jumps), grandfather has 1500 (and still jumps), and my grandmother has 120 or so...so no one really cared. They'd probability be more worried if I didn't Jump

Lucky bastard!

[Watcher 0]

I'm a college student with 725 jumps in under 3 years. I owe them money for car insurance and stuff, so of course they want me to pay them back, but right now that would interfere with my jumping so I have to put that on hold.

My mother and father both appreciate it, and understand its just what my passion is and what I use to Destress after a week. My dad likes to drink with his buddies, I jump out of air planes.

I am an AFF Instructor now so I should be able to start help financing the addiction on non training weekends. That helps, course every time I tell them I jump something just alittle bit smaller I think I nearly give them a heart attack.

Normally goes like this," You used to jump a what when you started?"
"A 170", and "now your jumping a what?" "A super high performance 103, and a lower performance 92" "Is that safe?" "No its not safe!!, I'm jumping out of airplanes and saving my life with a bundle of lines and nylon, but I try to make it as safe as possible". "Oh, atleast someone else is packing your reserve" "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you that, I now pack my own reserves too" "Better not tell me anymore" "OK guys, have a good week."

Hopefully I can convince them to do an AFF jump, they (and about everyone else)keeps asking when I can strap somebody to me and start jumping, but the idea of hauling cargo, even really attractive cargo just does not seem appealing.

But back to the beginning, they seem to support it pretty well, but want me to start paying them back some of the money.

--

Jonathan Bartlett
D-24876
AFF-I

[Skydive2 1]

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Normally goes like this," You used to jump a what when you started?"
"A 170", and "now your jumping a what?" "A super high performance 103, and a lower performance 92" "Is that safe?" "No its not safe!!

My mom's the same way. she hates the fact that I jump smaller canopies, and do hook turns. One weekend she kept telling me "no hook turns" over and over. Finally after the last load she walked out of the manifest and said "that's it, your not getting a smaller canopy, and your grounded this week" (not from jumping, but from going out with friends and stuff like that). I was 16 at the time, so what could I do. But the next weekend it was back to hook turns. She finally given up on stopping me, but she doesn't like it.
Kinda funny, most 16 year olds get grounded for sneaking out at night and stuff, I get grounded for doing hook turns...oh well
Lance

[uma 0]

My dad took me to the airport the day I did my first tandem; he saw my look when I landed (and later the video), and did one the following week. Before I knew it, he'd signed up for the AFF course and actually got his A license the week before I did!

My mother is another story ... when my dad and I came home from the airport the first day and told her (well, actually showed her the video) she was pretty appalled. I think she half-expected something of the sort, though, and now doesn't really mention it at all except for when she's upset that I can't come visit cause I'm jumping... so then I try to make sure to visit her more, and she's OK with it.

Life is like riding in a taxi.
Even when you're not going anywhere the meter is ticking
- Masked & Anonymous

[JFC3 0]

Dad compares it to his love of sailing all the time.

Mom loves her baby and would love to see him stop but won't nag about it. Poor woman. One time I quite convincingly said that I was through. It was too expensive and blah blah blah. You should have seen her eyes light up. For once I actually felt bad when I had to say I was kidding.

"Five days? But I'm angry now!"

[skyPrincess2002 0]

My parents are happy to see that I have found something I enjoy. They both have fun asking people/friends "who out of our five kids do you think is skydiving" Of course I am the last person everyone guesses. Surprise!
They both enjoy hearing about the experiences - but I find myself talking about it all the time. I wonder if that annoys people. "There was this one time at Skydive Oregon....."
I think my Dad would like to try a Tandem - but he will make all the excuses he can of why he won't. My mom - NO WAY. My brother - I gave him his down payment for his tandem for his birthday last October. He still has not redeemed his gift - but he will. The rest of the family ask - "Why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane?" BECAUSE I CAN

[skybrat68 0]

My parents think I'm positively insane. My mother is constantly on my ass telling me that she's waiting on the phone call to come identify my body. She also condemns me for throwing myself out of airplanes and not giving a second thought to the children I've brought into this world that are certainly going to be 'motherless' one of these days. Maybe one day both my children and I will throw ourself from aircraft and REALLY drive her insane, that would be the day.

[Snowbird 0]

I planned my first jump for my 30th birthday, but not ON my birthday. My mom didn't want to know when I was going, but did give me money for it. I called her the night after my jump, and I could almost hear her heart stop for a moment. I don't think it helped that my dad had passed away only a few months earlier. But I started sending her my writing about my skydives and somewhere around #30 she began to ask me about it. Then she shocked the h*** out of me and said that yeah, she might try a tandem one day.

My in-laws are the funny ones. FIL wants to do a jump SO bad, but has a really mucked up neck and can't. MIL hates it, and really hates that I got her son doing it. But since they live beside the airport they can't help but watch - drives her nuts with worry and him nuts with envy.

And BTW, getting grounded for doing hook turns is WAY funny!

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-Robert A. Heinlein

[bch7773 0]

My parents forbid me to skydive when they heard I was thinking about it, so I didn't tell them when I started jumping. However, I did tell a friend, who told my sister, who told my parents... they were pretty pissed.
Of course, now they are just mad about the money I spend doing it.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[oldnewbie 0]

My parents live in Casa Grande, five miles from SDA. The first time i went to visit them, the next morning they fed me, drove me to eloy, said *gosh, you like flying, why don't you try this*.

What were my parents trying to tell me?????

[Jasmin 0]

My parents met skydiving!!!!!!!
I di my first tandem on my 14th b'day and 1st AFF on my 16th.
I love my parents for it!!!

xj

"I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

[jessd 0]

Thankfully my parents are very supportive. I did my first tandem the same day as my dad. It was his idea really - something he had always wanted to try. I had never seriously considered it before. At first my mom was skeptical and all she did was worry. I convinced her to go with me for my second tandem and that calmed her a little. I just started my AFF and both my parents offer support and encouragement. My mom loves to watch my AFF level A jump video - I think she has shown it to as many people as me.
Since I have been second guessing jumping lately and have fears of my own it helps that my parents are supportive.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away..."

[buzzfink 5]

My parents hated it. The only time my dad saw me jump was at my (skydiving) wedding.

He finnaly accepted the fact that his dislike of my sport would not change things so he eventually accepted it.


Buzz

[Galen 0]

They hate it. I didn't tell them until I was at AFF level 5. We have an understaning that I don't tell them when I'm doing and they never have to come watch. Luckily they live 1200 miles away. They did watch my AFF level 1 video though (probably not what I should have shown them).

I think my Mother is somewhat intrigued. My Father acts like I'm hurting him. Tries to use the $$ to make it sound bad. He has no idea what I've spent so far.

Respect the Dolphin

[skygirlpc 0]

At first my parents were scared but my mom (my hero), not wanting me to have any regrets almost encouraged me in it.
She and my sister had to be at the dz every jump at first.
My dad loves to hear about it, but doesn't like to watch.
I have just recently picked up on the fact that they both like to tell people about my skydiving. I think that they feel kind of proud of me in a way!

Danielle

[Muenkel 0]

They're paying for my AFF as a gift to me. They're backing me 100%
Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[hooked 0]

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They're paying for my AFF as a gift to me. They're backing me 100%
Chris

Will they adopt me?

J

--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[BenGriffiths 0]

That's one think I've not told my parents how much I spend on the sport via jumps, kit & beer

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Ben G
Still Sinking :-(

[Conquest150 0]

my dad really enjoys it cause its now something that we both enjoy doing together seeings as how we both do it but my mom on the other hand just has to deal with it cause if she tries to make me quit all i have to do is talk to my dad and he'll let me continue to go so i guess its good to have a father in the sport

[airtwardo 7]

I started jumping back in the 70's, I was 18 and " Feeling my oats"...

I didn't even tell my folks until I was about to make my first freefall.

My dad came out and took pictures, really enjoyed himself...in fact became somewhat of a fixture out at the dropzone.
It wasn't until I'd started jumping that he pulled out some old photographs of the Piper Cub he's once owned! I didn't know he was once a pilot!

They have always been very supportive of my jumping, and have gone on many road trips to see me perform at various demos.

I asked them once years ago if they ever have any misgivings about their only son skydiving...

My mother told me that when I started she was actually relieved...since I had to sell my motorcycle to buy a parachute when I was 18.

My father surprised me, (never being one to express much sentiment) when he said that he considered me very fortunate, and that he was happy for me that I had lucked on to something I cared so much about that I focused my life on.

Well...I'm a Dad now, and although if won't be for another 5-6 years, I've got three that are already wanting to know If I'll teach them or if they'll have to 'sneak' it in like I did 27 years ago!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[skygod7777 0]

what about the option, "your mom or dad jump with you because your a dz brat"

that's the one i need
later

[AggieDave 6]

My folks are very very supportive and excited about my jumping. They come watch when ever they can (though we live about 5 hours apart from each other).

It probably comes from that my dad used to fly jumpers in Montana back in the '70s out of a 172.

Infact, they slid me a couple hundred bucks to help me get my tandem rating, which was very very cool of them!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[skytash 0]

My family is very supportive. When still in hospital from a landing injury, my mother was relieved that I would carry on jumping as she felt that being stupid once shouldn't put me off doing something I obviously enjoy. My sister did a tandem while I was still on crutches from the same incident.
My grandmother keeps asking for pictures so she can show them off to the other 'old girls' in the old people's home she lives in to show what a great granddaughter she has.

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[tinfoil 0]

Well, my mom is okay with it. She has watched my first jump video, and tries to understand why I like it so much. At the moment she's giving me a loan so I can buy my first rig.

My dad is another story. Leaves the house when I play my first jump video, can't stand me talking about it, and gives one of the "I'm very disappointed in you" looks when I get back from a day at the DZ. Oh, and he hates the guy got me started in the sport.
Doesn't run in the family though, his 78 y/o aunt loved my video.

“- - Sumo is the greatest of sports. It has power, grace, speed and cluture. And most importantly, two fat bastards smacking the shit out of each other. ”