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How a polar plunge went from thrilling to terrifying
Hey oh, it’s Dynasty Dad! Shouting some dad topics to you from another room while I’m trying to find where one of my kids hid my phone.
This week’s shout: 📣 How a polar plunge went from thrilling to terrifying📣
Dad Meme and Joke Of The Week
Meme
Joke
Q: Did you hear the rumor about butter?
A: I’m not going to spread it.
How a polar plunge went from thrilling to terrifying
It started with a folded note that simply read “Matt” perched on the coffee maker as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.
The door to the garage was ajar as if someone had left in haste.
As I unfolded the letter I was half expecting to say it's been a fun ride but life with 3 kids is too much and I'm out…”good luck”.
To my pleasant surprise, it was a date planned by Meredith. A babysitter was coming and she had reserved a sauna on Lake Michigan.
The date was to alternate from sauna to polar plunge in Lake Michigan’s icy waters like the perfect recipe for easy-to-peel hardboil eggs.
All followed by a late breakfast, without the kids.
The morning started with much excitement and anticipation.
The babysitter showed up on time. We didn't waste a second leaving, arriving to our sauna appointment 20 minutes early.
It turns out the early arrival was the pinnacle of the date. It went downhill from here.
Once we signed the waiver that explicitly stated that “you understand that sauna can cause serious harm or death”. We entered the inferno.
Important note Meredith does a sauna and cold shower, daily, at the YMCA.
She felt like a veteran. However, the sauna at the YMCA is probably in the mid 100s this sauna’s thermometer read 220. And the cold shower is probably 55 degrees Lake Michigan was nearly freezing (33 degrees).
I knew this shit was hot when I tried to take a deep breath through my nose and it felt as if someone was pouring boiling water in my nostrils.
My goal for the first round was 20 minutes and I pushed my date to stick it out with me (she is a pro…right?).
We got out of the sauna after exactly 20 minutes.
The holes of my Crocs were spouting water like a dam that had sprung a leak. I briefly wondered where all this water coming from but quickly realized that my sweat had created a river from my head, down my chest, across my legs pooling in my Crocs.
We popped out of the Sauna heading for the ice bath. This is where things took a turn.
We both plunged ourselves in the icy February water quickly popping up with a mix of feeling stunned and the pain of having stuck my finger in a light socket.
As we made it back up to the sauna for round 2 I glanced over at Meredith and she still looked stunned. Almost petrified.
I asked her if she was ok…and she muttered “no”. Followed by “I'm going to pass out”.
My mind immediately went to that line on the waiver “we are not responsible for any harm or death”. Oh shit.
I got Meredith over to the car. Both of us in wet bathing suits on a mid-winter day.
After about 20 minutes of contemplating if we should I drive her to the ER.
Her feeling of passing out had passed, but we weren’t out of the woods yet.
She began shaking uncontrollably.
No doubt her body was in shock and trying to warm itself up.
Another 20 minutes of trying to warm her up and we avoided major harm and death.
So what did I learn from this experience besides 220 and 33 is extremes.
1\ A surprise date is awesome.
It made me realize we don’t do this enough…plan surprise dates for each other. Weirdly it made me feel special.
It’s hard with kids to take care of them, the house, and work. It can be all-consuming and I often forget we need to take care of each other.
But it is so important to find ways to make each other feel special.
And a surprise date is an amazing way to tell your wife/girl friend she is special.
2\ Don’t be basic
Something besides dinner or a movie
Even though the date didn’t turn out as planned it gave us a story we will likely tell for years.
Now hopefully our next alternative date doesn’t end up with a trip to the ER.
I read a quote recently that goes something like build a life that looks like an adventure not like a resume.
Basically, don’t settle for basic.
This got me thinking about our next date, it might be too soon to do sauna and polar plunge again.
Maybe a kayak down the Boardman river.
Or a bike up to the closest winery.
Or star gazing at the local dark sky park.
Or a canning or cooking class together
Either way I’m going to make it an adventure and steer clear of any hardboil egg cooking techniques.
This Week's Interesting Thing:
I’m a fan of great copywriting. And saw this great example.
In Alex Hormozi’s book $100M Offer he says, “the point of good writing is for the reader to understand. The point of great persuasion is for the prospects to feel understood.”
This ad makes the prospect feel understood by relating to the frustration they are likely feeling with “absurd Uber Eats Fees?”.
Other Dynasty Dad Topics:
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