By: Michael The Badass Geek

I was maybe eight or nine years old when my parents piled my sisters and I into the station wagon for another family reunion. We were meeting up with my mothers side of the family at my grandfather’s lake house, and as was customary in those days, we were running late.  

Not that I feel any different now that I’m an adult, but family reunions were always boring to me as a kid. There were lots of people you only saw a couple of times a year, and they always made comments about how much you had grown or asked how things were going in school. I was always polite and endured the questionings, because I knew once I got that out of the way, I could go see what kind of trouble I could get into with my cousin.  

Being able to hang out with my cousin was, short of the large amounts of food I’d eat while my parents were distracted, the best thing about family reunions. We often got into trouble by some of the things we did, but I didn’t seem to mind. It was the kind of careless summer fun that every kid wants to have, and it always was worth the inevitable punishment that was handed down afterwards. On the day in question, though, I got in a little over my head.  

By the time we arrived at the lake house, my cousin was already swimming in the lake. It was a chilly day for swimming, which is why my parents didn’t let me bring my swim trunks. I stood on the dock watching my cousin swim, and after a half hour of listening to him taunting me from the water, he dared me to jump into the lake, fully clothed.  

He said he thought I’d be too chicken to do it. He said that I’d get into a lot of trouble,  seeing as I was wearing my best clothes and my brand new sneakers. He said that I’d never do it, but I had heard enough. I got a running start and jumped off the dock into the lake.  

And you know what? He was right. I did get into a lot of trouble for doing that. A lot of trouble, and perhaps rightly so. It didn’t matter to me, though. It was worth it to know that I proved my cousin wrong. It was a major victory for me at that point in my life, and I didn’t mind being grounded for the rest of the month for having achieved it.  

I hope you have a good time with your family, Tony. Try not to get yourself into any trouble.  

What can I say about Michael that I haven't said before - he's just Badass. In the blogger world you find great writers who you feel you like you know on a person al level just from their posts. That's how I feel about him, I feel like I know him and we're just old friends who when we first meet face to face will just be able to sit there and know that whatever gets said or done in that meeting will end up in each other's blog You're  a great guy Mike. Thanks.