DivorSea
A newly divorced, SCUBA certified mother of two was bound and determined to rediscover herself and get back to what makes her happiest. On a typical work day during her lunch break, she entered a local dive shop, Underwater Phantaseas in Lakewood, CO just to inquire about their Advanced Open Water certification class. About 25 minutes later, she exited with not only a new mask and snorkel but with a spontaneous, newly booked trip to the Bahamas for a week on a live-aboard. With an ex-husband living in Europe and no family to provide care for her children while on vacation she beckoned her ex to get his sweet arse back to the States and take care of his kids; at all costs she would not take no for an answer! This was her time afterall.
The trip was a couple months out and just her luck a freak and sudden illness put her in the hospital the night before she was to depart. Once at the hospital they rushed her into an emergency room (ER). All she could say to the ER Doc was, "Get me better pronto and give me a signed, Letter of Clearance to dive! I leave tomorrow morning at 6AM and I'm not missing my trip!"
Antibiotics were fed through an IV for a diagnosed kidney infection and three hours later she was released. Upon her release from the hospital, she drove straight to the dive shop where she had pre-scheduled a dive refresher class and pool time. Geared up and ready to dive in the pool, the dive instructor noticed a cotton ball still attached to her arm with a Band-Aid. He gave her a concerning look and asked, "Are you feeling ok? You look a little pale." she replied, "Never better, I just got out of the hospital but I'm ready to go! Let's do this." The instructor, laughed and said, "You're a real die hard" and she replied, "No, I'm a B.A.M. who refuses to miss out on living a life of adventure. It will take a lot more than a kidney infection to keep me from diving!" (B.A.M. is short for Bad Ass Mom)
Needless to say, the trip was a success. The live-aboard dive trip consisted of up to four dives per day at multiple dive sites, optional land excursions to Freeport and Bimini, magnificent swim throughs, 70 ft reef walls, wreck dives, hammerhead sightings, turtles, reef sharks, rays, dolphins, and lobster-a-plenty.
More importantly, the dive trip didn't just satisfy her longing to be under the sea; going on this adventure left her with a greater sense-of-self. Vacationing alone with fewer distractions or someone else's agenda to follow enabled her to better connect with the elements. She returned home feeling as if her soul was purified by the sea, more at peace, and united with the world and all that is living.
