The Santa Claus wish list gets finalized each year a few days before Christmas. We pop it in the mail and cross our fingers.
My favorite part of Christmas may very well be seeing my kids’ Christmas lists. Lowe couldn’t come up with a single thing that he wanted, so decided he was happy with three surprises. However, if at all possible (which he knew was unlikely), he wouldn’t mind a new dinghy. He’d really like a dinghy with a steering wheel and a 20hp engine. Ouest had a couple of things she wanted. A Fitbit Ace 2 because it’s waterproof to scuba depths, a metal detector, and a surprise. Best of all I like that they don’t dive right into asking for things, being sure to first share a thoughtful sentence or two.
Time for our open water diving course. Day one was going over basics in shallow water. We started off with a 300 yard swim and ten minutes of treading water. It was funny to watch the kids casually swimming to the bottom to investigate fish while they were supposed to be concentrating on swimming 300 yards. That stuff was almost comically simple, but you could see the two instructors breathe a sigh of relief after watching them swim a bit.
In the water the kids and I ripped through all the checklists. Not one skill had to be repeated. Clearing masks, removing and replacing gear, emergency breathing, etc.. By the end of the fourth checklist our instructor looked at his watch and said, “Geez, that was so easy we still have time left to move right on to the open water (deeper water) lessons today.”
On day two we once again tore right through the checklists. It was awesome to watch the two of them underwater, perfectly comfortable and at ease, communicating easily via hand signals (the kids already have their own underwater language). They teased me later because I had trouble finding the hole for my arm to get my BCD back on. That extra twenty seconds was about the only delay we experienced the entire time.
We found our first seahorse.
And before we knew it, we were done. The kids were stoked. This was something they’d been wanting to do for a couple of years. Age was the only thing holding them back. I never really cared much about being able to dive. I can freedive really well, and was always content enough with that, but I’m really excited to now have something like this to share with the kids. And I also realized quickly how different animals act when you are just lingering down there with them. The fish don’t scatter, and the turtles seem happy to just ignore you.
Talking to the kids that night Lowe said, “It’s even better than I thought it was gonna be.”
I’m super proud of them. Watching how at home they are underwater, at their age, is a gift.
Shout out to Jason and Lucas for the great job they did, too. I was able to enjoy myself more just knowing that those two were watching out for my kids every step of the way.
After about ten hours in the water in just twenty-four, we were all pretty well knackered that night. Reading Harry Potter, watching silly birds, and enjoying the beautiful evening weather was a nice way to end the day.
15 Comments on “Scuba Divers”
Congratulations to you all! WOW! I’ve been diving for years, hundreds of dives all over the world & yet to see a seahorse-how exciting for you! I was thrilled to see that photo of the kids checking it out-so cool! Now I can look forward to even more wonderful underwater pix! Because as you realized, diving brings those critters close to you when you can just quietly hang out with them….& it seems it will be some time before we’re able to dive again.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
And neither of them asked for tanks and a compressor to fill them. Congrats on the dive certs, it looks amazing down there.
Oh yes they thought of that, but we had already talked about really getting the practice in before buying equipment. Where the heck we are going to find the space for all that…
I love this so much!! A whole new level for these guys to “play/discover” on!! Yay!! for all of you!
I did my open water checkout in Monterey Bay 55 years ago. Your kids now have a whole new world of wonder open to them. Congratulations.
Congratulations! Another fun family adventure. Love how the tanks are nearly as big as the kids. (Not for long!)
Those tanks so look so huge on the kids! Congratulations to you all.
Yes, first class they only had the big tanks. 2nd one they made sure to get the smaller ones from the other dive shop. And then when renting they had the small ones ready.
Wow, Ouest and Lowe are two very lucky kids.
Gahh your kids continue to be the coolest 🙂 I look forward to their Santa lists every year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to the whole crew!!
So very cool! Happy New Year!
They are fearless! Such a gift to be eager to welcome new adventures. And now, what a beautiful new world awaits them – there is so much to learn about the sea and its depths. They are getting so grown up and are such thoughtful youngsters.
Right?! We had to say no to them last year as Lowe was only 8. They are amazing.
You need to buy a surface air supply for them so they do t have to carry tanks. One brand is Hooka. They can go as deep as the hose allows.
Will have to check those out. Thanks.