Scuba Certified

On the calendar: a no-kids trip to Belize with Todd's family in August! Considering Belize has the next-best coral reef in the world after Australia, it seemed a crying shame to go without becoming a certified scuba diver. So Todd and I registered for classes about three weeks ago, thereby locking us in for not only three evenings of classes (ie: dates) but a weekend getaway to Monterey as well.That very getaway is what I am just now returning from, a refreshed, rejuvenated, new woman. For the same price as a teenage babysitter who would, by some miracle, love to watch our midgets from 6am to 5pm on Saturday AND Sunday (surviving church as part of the deal), we instead bought my mom a plane ticket to come out here. Excellent choice. That meant Todd and I could leave Friday evening and have an entire weekend together sans kids.

It was bueno. We did two dives on Saturday, and two more on Sunday. We saw starfish as large as my head, gorgeous red kelp on coral beds, tall forests of brown kelp, big fish, little fish, otters, seals, eels. The visibility was low (2-5 feet Saturday, 5-10 feet Sunday) so I'm sure it could be even better another time, but it was still excellent.I discovered Todd has a penchant for distraction. Three of our four dives, we got lost from our group because Todd was so intently studying the sealife that I couldn't get his attention before the others had swam too far away for us to see them, and I didn't want to lose him. It got to be a bit of a running joke by the last dive.

We made friends with the other couple certifying. Saturday night we all went out to dinner and we also stopped by a place where you could go through a lazer maze and try not to trip the lazers. So Mission Impossible! It was a blast.The Navy Gateway we stayed at had peacocks on the grounds. When we saw them in the evening, we felt glamorous and got right close for a photo shoot. When we discovered the next morning that they walk around the hotel being nature's alarm clocks, they lost some of their allure.Todd and I got some much-needed couple time (first time we've gone out alone together since Jack was born). It was empowering to flirt and laugh and be out on the town and not have anything to worry about. (Thanks, Mom! We knew the kids were well taken care of.)

I also really appreciated the chance to take a break from motherhood. I love it so much, but it is a taxing job. It was refreshing to not be responsible for anyone else, to not worry about what to put in a diaper bag or what time it was and who was tired or hungry. It just felt so good to be a woman and a wife and a friend and that's all. It also felt good to come home and have Hazel run into my arms and get hyper because she was so excited we were home. And what a priceless feeling to snuggle Jack to sleep tonight. It was good to take a breather from that so I could remember how much I love it.