0:00My grandma was wobbling on a kitchen chair,
0:02reaching for the top shelf,
0:03so I grabbed her waist. You're too old for this.
0:05Let me do it for you. She swatted my hands away.
0:08I may be a little older than you,
0:09but I still got it. I just laughed it off.
0:11She jumped down and landed in a squat.
0:13I'm gonna prove it. I didn't know what she was talking about,
0:16but the next day, she pulled up outside my house,
0:18honking till I came out. She rolled the window down and said,
0:21I'm gonna show you what us grandmas are capable of.
0:23I got in the car and asked, grandma,
0:25where are we going? Is it your knitting club or something?
0:28She responded by putting on sunglasses and doing 130 in a 50 lane.
0:32You'll see. When we parked at a small airfield,
0:34I turned to her, completely confused. Grandma,
0:37why are we at an airport? But she was already getting out of the car
0:40and cartwheeling through the entrance.
0:41Just follow me, son.
0:42Inside, a guy at the desk lit up when he saw her. Rita,
0:46it's been so long since we last saw each other.
0:48He kissed her hand and she pointed a finger at me.
0:50He thinks I'm too old to do anything cool anymore.
0:53The man looked at me and laughed.
0:54Then you've got another thing coming.
0:56He handed her a parachute backpack.
0:58She stepped into it like she done it a thousand times.
1:01Snapping every buckle without looking,
1:03I smiled nervously. Um,
1:04Gran, what.
1:05What are we doing? She tossed a jumpsuit at my chest.
1:08We're going skydiving. My heart started pounding and I grabbed her arm.
1:11This is insane, Gran.
1:12You're 80 years old. Let me drive you home.
1:15She shook me off and walked to the plane.
1:16I climbed in after her,
1:18and I watched the houses become tiny dots in the distance
1:21as we shot up 18,000 feet into the sky.
1:24She checked my straps for me,
1:25calm as anything, while I gripped the bench till my knuckles ached.
1:28When we got to the top, the instructor hauled the door open.
1:31Freezing wind tore through the cabin.
1:33I locked up in the doorway,
1:34shaking my head. Grandma,
1:36I can't. I really can't do this.
1:38She pulled her goggles down and clipped my strap.
1:40You're young. Let me do it for you.
1:42She tipped backward out of the plane,
1:43arms wide. Whooping like a teenager,
1:46I dove out after her, and by the time I got near to her,
1:48she was way below me, flat and steady and grinning into the wind
1:52while I cartwheeled through the sky
1:53screaming her name. When we landed,
1:55I was a sweaty mess, but my grandma landed in a squat and smiled.
1:59Told you I was gonna prove it.