waynel
Contributor
Hey ya'll. Been a year since I've been on the board. I'm posting this, not to get anyone down, but to show what scuba diving can do for a hurting soul, especially in a dive paradise like Cozumel (how lucky we Americans are that it's so close).
Last year, on May 29, 2014, as I walked out the door four days before my beloved wife (and dive buddy for eight years) and I were to get on a plane to Coz, as we have done many years before...stopped me and said "Four days to paradise!" Last words I ever heard from her. She was a teacher and that day was the last day of school with her kids...not for the year, but forever. She was retiring after 29 years. All she could talk about was how many more dive trips we could take each year after she retired.
I'm a building contractor. I get a call at 11am at the jobsite and I'm told she is in the hosptial. She collapsed in her classroom and passed away after getting to the hospital. Again, forgive me...I'm getting to my point.
After a year of grief counseling, selling the house, downsizing and rebuilding my life...I am flying to Coz, solo, on May 28th to take the trip we never got to take. It took me three days to hit the "book it" button, but someone told me..."The best thing you can do is go down there and dive for the both of you. Wayne, she would demand it of you." And it hit me...what really made us both feel alive, the thing we shared that the vast majority of people never do, was being in gin clear water 100 ft down on Punta Sur and gliding through another world.
Again, this is not a tale of woe...it's a tale of feeling alive again. It's what diving, just the anticipation of diving in a wonderful place like Cozumel can do for the wounded heart. It's what people who never dive and shudder at just the thought of it don't understand...it's the real chicken soup for the soul. Cherish every dive my brothers and sisters. We all share something that most people don't ever experience and don't know how much it means to us.
P.S. when you're diver down, pull your reg and blow a water kiss to Lisa. She'll see it. If you get to choose your heaven, that's where she'll be.
Last year, on May 29, 2014, as I walked out the door four days before my beloved wife (and dive buddy for eight years) and I were to get on a plane to Coz, as we have done many years before...stopped me and said "Four days to paradise!" Last words I ever heard from her. She was a teacher and that day was the last day of school with her kids...not for the year, but forever. She was retiring after 29 years. All she could talk about was how many more dive trips we could take each year after she retired.
I'm a building contractor. I get a call at 11am at the jobsite and I'm told she is in the hosptial. She collapsed in her classroom and passed away after getting to the hospital. Again, forgive me...I'm getting to my point.
After a year of grief counseling, selling the house, downsizing and rebuilding my life...I am flying to Coz, solo, on May 28th to take the trip we never got to take. It took me three days to hit the "book it" button, but someone told me..."The best thing you can do is go down there and dive for the both of you. Wayne, she would demand it of you." And it hit me...what really made us both feel alive, the thing we shared that the vast majority of people never do, was being in gin clear water 100 ft down on Punta Sur and gliding through another world.
Again, this is not a tale of woe...it's a tale of feeling alive again. It's what diving, just the anticipation of diving in a wonderful place like Cozumel can do for the wounded heart. It's what people who never dive and shudder at just the thought of it don't understand...it's the real chicken soup for the soul. Cherish every dive my brothers and sisters. We all share something that most people don't ever experience and don't know how much it means to us.
P.S. when you're diver down, pull your reg and blow a water kiss to Lisa. She'll see it. If you get to choose your heaven, that's where she'll be.
We're planning on diving our a$$es off for the next few years while we can. I can't think of anything better. Be safe and enjoy Coz. See ya on the reef.
