Not sure which one it was … a lust for adventure, a craving for open water, or just crazy mid life crisis. But I got scuba certified – at age 43. Along with my 15 year old daughter. Well, it was her idea. It started at the Atlantis in the Bahamas – where we first went and dove with sharks. Really – in a lagoon with 21 sharks swimming overhead. She wanted to do it alone and I had to go … to protect her. Only to realize that I was as helpless as her 20 feet under with the magnificent creatures brushing by us. All 21 of them. That was it…we had to get certified after that.
The hardest part of the certification is getting started. Starts with 4 pool dives and an endurance test where you have to tread water for 15 minutes without support. Then it follows with 4 open water dives. The hardest part of that being beach entry – breaking the wave line with over 30 pounds on your back. But your first experience of diving 30 feet below the surface is one you are guaranteed to remember for a very long time.
To celebrate our certification, my kid and I went to Cancun. And that was a life changing experience. It’s a different world once you break surface. Each of your senses – taste, smell, sound, and touch get transformed by a new experience. An experience in tranquility and serenity. Where the world slows, the fish pause, and the underwater bursts out into unimaginable shades of color. Your helplessness becomes your strength and your awareness reaches a different plane. The significance of the insignificant is startling.
And of course you have to prepare for the embarrassments. You run out of oxygen before your kid does, you are more disoriented than she is, and she is having a better time that you are. But all in all – what an amazing bonding experience.
If you are reading this blog, and if you aren’t certified – then do consider it. It is a life changing experience!
