Doing things in the grey zone rather than as a family of dad, mum and children, was a new experience for us today; Opening up the first of new possibilities.

A day of jet skiing would normally be something planned a few days in advance: Check the weather, check the wind conditions, invite out some friends and their children. Whomever can make it, make it.

The day before, lunch is prepared, the car is packed with beach games, the large shade tent (our taj mahal), beach chairs, wave board and the towing biscuit. That had been the way for a few years now.

Today we woke up, and decided to go for a jetski. Just us, while the weather is good and before our life at the end of summer is again consumed by normality. No prep, no organisation and no children; they’re both busy working today. A quick check of the weather forecast , throw a few things together; A change of clothes, towels, life jackets, swimming costumes , some water and we’re on our way.

Launch and setup is now all one activity done in 30 minutes rather than drop off the family, unload the car and carry it all down to the beach ready for setup,  while later I then drive to boat ramp to launch. This all takes over an hour till we’re ready to start the fun.

We zoomed around on the bay earlier than usual. The water glass like smooth and the weather gorgeous,  we rode just as a couple taking turns at the controls.

It was great conditions for towing a waterboard or kids on a tube, just that today there was no-one to tow! Ironically while we usually would have crammed in as many rides as possible before the wind lifted and chopped up the water making towing uncomfortable today the smooth conditions lasted till lunch. I watched another ski tow a tube backwards and forwards until the weather chopped up the water when we packed everything back into the ski and shot off back to the ramp to leave.

While we would have liked the boys to have been with us to share this, it was a taste of the upcoming life in the grey zone.

We’ll need to convince our friends, now also free of children to join us at the bay. The children have been the the centre of our collective universes, the gravitational pull that held the group of friends together, so now it’s time to re-group and re-establish our relationships without children, as another experience in the grey zone unfolds.