I can hear my mom saying in my mind, “They were crazy” after finding out that we bought kayaks after the age of 80.

It started completely innocently, and I must admit that I was the unwitting instigator. While shopping at a large Walmart shopping center, I pointed to the inflatable kayaks on display. My husband, a man of action, immediately jumped on the internet and researched all the data and advantages and disadvantages of inflatable kayaks. We decided, bought, inflated and tested them on the calm water of a nearby lake. The kayaks we purchased were for a person weighing from 110 pounds to 190 pounds, which was appropriate.

An inevitable next option was the rapids of the Delaware River. The river reminded me of beautiful memories of the years when my grandson and granddaughter spent the summer with us. We always rented canoes and paddled down the Delaware River, which flows nearby. We also had our lunch spot there, where we always stopped and swam.

The decision to go whitewater on the Delaware River was a bit of a worry for me. Would I be able to repeat my experience of kayaking down rapids in my younger years? I told my husband that he had to go first so he could show me where to go.

Unfortunately, something unexpected happened. I got in the kayak and the current caught me and carried me for at least a mile down the rapids. I definitely thought my husband was following me. Eventually, the current calmed down, I turned in the opposite direction—and my husband was nowhere to be found; the river was empty for all I could see.

This scared me, and I began to paddle furiously upstream until I found my husband on the bank, struggling to get into the kayak. As it turned out, the kayak was too submerged for his weight and easily capsized. So my husband swam, not once, but three times. He was angry with me at first, but we ended up laughing about it all.

So we decided to look for older, real kayaks for sale. One kayak was bought for my husband, quite bulky and it seemed like it would be difficult to capsize, even though it is designed for whitewater. My kayak is longer, slimmer and doesn’t seem very stable. Wasn’t buying this rickety kayak a sweet revenge for me? We’ll find out on my next trip down the Delaware River.

I also read all the kayaking advice I could find. There was one question and answer I completely agree with: “Is it possible to get in and out of a kayak gracefully?” The answer: “To tell you the truth, it’s not.”

Olga Orisek lives in Forestburgh, NY.