I have never liked show and tell. When I was in elementary school I could never find something cool enough to show to the class and I hated talking in front of my peers. My face would turn red and I would whisper until my teacher would tell me to speak up, which always made things worse. I eventually got over my shyness. If you know me, then you know this is true. I think what helped me was being able to laugh at myself, even in the most embarrassing moments.
I say all of this to tell you about my latest show and tell experience. Nope, it wasn't in a classroom or even scheduled to happen, but it did make me laugh to forget embarrassment because I probably would have crawled into a ball and cried if I hadn't.
It happened while rafting last month with Campus Ministries. Sure, I have written about the rafting trip already. This is the other side. My humiliation exposed. My show and tell. Ugh.
Usually when I go rafting my adrenaline kicks in and I am pumped. I want nothing more than to jump into the raft and ride the rapids as soon as possible. This time it was different. I didn't feel comfortable for some reason.
None the less, I got in the raft after we put it in the water and we started our journey down the Ocoee. The first rapid came, it was easy. The second rapid came, I almost fell out. The third and fourth rapid came and so on. With each rapid my body became more tired and my footing less stable. Considering I was sitting in the front where there is no place to hold on, I was destined to fall out. Low and behold, I did.
Now, when I say "fall out" I don't mean some graceful entrance into the water followed by a swift return into the raft. Oh, no.
Our guide, a very cute recent Biology grad from NC State, told us that our next rapid was a class four and it was different from all the others on the river. It was a hydraulic rapid. What this means, I don't know, but he told us that if we fall out, then curl into a ball and hope that it spits you out.
WHAT?!?
Hope it spits us out?
Yep. Apparently the current in that rapid is so strong that you can get trapped and it will keep sucking you into the rapid.
Well, guess who fell out? ME!
FLOOP!
Right into the water as soon as we hit the rapid.
Fortunately, it spit me out immediately. I come up and wave after wave starts hitting me in the face. Water fills my mouth hindering my breathing. More water fills my ears so I can barely hear the guide and other people screaming at me to hold on to rope connected to the raft. Their words are comprehended and I hold on for dear life.
Because the rapid was so strong, the guide couldn't pull me in immediately. I had to ride the rapid in the water. The only thing I could do was avoid the massive rocks quickly approaching my face, keep my feet from entrapment, and remind myself not to inhale too much water.
We finally reached calm water. The guide had to yell at me a couple of times to snap me back into reality. I finally let go of the rope I was holding so tightly to and he pulled me in.
I laid in the back where my guide was and coughed up the water that tried filling up my lungs.
About five minutes passed and the guide said I could move back to my seat if I was able. I did. Slowly.
Here comes the show and tell.
As I was standing up, my severely drenched basketball shorts decide to fall down. Unbeknownst to me, of course. By this time I was so cold and shocked that I didn't know what was happening until I felt a hand grab the back of my shorts and they started pulling them up. At first I thought it was our guide and horror filled me, then I realized it was one of my good friends and fellow council members, Miriam. She always has my back, this time it's literal.
And guess who saw the show? The really cute guide and the rest of creation behind him. Of course it had to be the day that I was wearing my purple granny panties. Yep, PURPLE granny panties. Ladies, don't play. You know the ones. I guess that's better than white ones, at least the purple ones aren't see through.
I was mortified. All I could do was laugh. I found my seat and sat there. I sat there and thought about one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Not only did I fall out of a raft, but my show and tell experience probably scarred our poor guide for life.
Like I said before, I am glad I learned to laugh at myself. I do it a lot, trust me. Mainly to lessen the embarrassment. It works. You should try it. After all, you never know when you might have a show and tell experience of your own.
