My Kids are Smart

Really.

She's getting her OW certification done. Yesterday was her second set
of checkout dives. She's been excellent in the water to date, and has
been enjoying it. She has a 16 year old girl's irrational fear of
seaweed, but otherwise she's gonna be a good diver once I get her
trained up right.

So she's on her first dive of the day, and she has a block, but instead
of coming back up in the water column, she decides "I can clear this"
and keeps on descending. Naturally, she gets the pain. Her instructor
brought her back to the beach, and I fed her some Sudafed and some warm
tea in hopes of clearing her tubes.

So she's sitting on the bench, and she's getting cold. I can see her
lips are getting a little blue, and she's tired already. Time comes
and she's gearing up. I'm watching her close, as is her instructor as
she looks like she's losing focus. Her ear still wasn't popping. She
stops. Things aren't just so. I can tell just by looking at her, but
I want to see what she's gonna do.

"Not today" she says, and steps out of her gear. Girl called her
first dive. Awesome.

She's going back in tomorrow to finish up the cert course. Then I'll
teach her to dive.

I've already got her a set of titanium Spare Air doubles, just like
mine.

Jerome's Sock Puppet wrote:
> Really.
>
> She's getting her OW certification done. Yesterday was her second set
> of checkout dives. She's been excellent in the water to date, and has
> been enjoying it. She has a 16 year old girl's irrational fear of
> seaweed, but otherwise she's gonna be a good diver once I get her
> trained up right.
>
> So she's on her first dive of the day, and she has a block, but instead
> of coming back up in the water column, she decides "I can clear this"
> and keeps on descending. Naturally, she gets the pain. Her instructor
> brought her back to the beach, and I fed her some Sudafed and some warm
> tea in hopes of clearing her tubes.
>
> So she's sitting on the bench, and she's getting cold. I can see her
> lips are getting a little blue, and she's tired already. Time comes
> and she's gearing up. I'm watching her close, as is her instructor as
> she looks like she's losing focus. Her ear still wasn't popping. She
> stops. Things aren't just so. I can tell just by looking at her, but
> I want to see what she's gonna do.
>
> "Not today" she says, and steps out of her gear. Girl called her
> first dive. Awesome.
>
> She's going back in tomorrow to finish up the cert course. Then I'll
> teach her to dive.
>
> I've already got her a set of titanium Spare Air doubles, just like
> mine.

**round of applause for your smart girl!**

*

Popeye wrote:

> Smart girl, like her Dad.

Good looking, too.

> Have either of you dove that wing yet?

The pull dump... errr... I mean, the *power inflator* is horked, so
it's in the shop right now getting a new one. We dove the reg all
weekend. The SPG is a lost cause, though, so I replaced it with one
of them fancy low profile jobbers. The thing is about the size of a
quarter.

> Is the other gear doing okay?

Fabulous. I used the webbing to thread the other plate, which will
become Smart Kid's when I get another wing for it. The sausage is
safely tucked in with my rig.

Have I told you I love you lately?

> I only ask out of brand loyalty and curiosity.

Naturally. Check out how smart she is.

Day 1 of the pool sessions, she's gotta have all her "personal gear."
So I dig out my snorkle, and fix it, so she'll meet the course
requirements. She looks at it, and asks "What's the duct tape for?"


I tell her "That's where the nail goes." She just looks at me like
I'm weird.

After the first pool sessions, she says "I hate snorkles," and then
went on to list the litany of reasons why no sane SCUBA diver should
wear one. I told her what the nail was for, and now she's all excited
to tack it up on the wall.

It's gonna be cool having a dive buddy I can boss around for once. :)

"Jerome's Sock Puppet" <jerome.oneil@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1150165481.470957.287110@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Popeye wrote:
>
>> Smart girl, like her Dad.
>
> Good looking, too.
>
>> Have either of you dove that wing yet?
>
> The pull dump... errr... I mean, the *power inflator* is horked, so
> it's in the shop right now getting a new one. We dove the reg all
> weekend. The SPG is a lost cause, though, so I replaced it with one
> of them fancy low profile jobbers. The thing is about the size of a
> quarter.

Cool!

Remember, send back anything, even if it's trashed, it's my first set.

>> Is the other gear doing okay?
>
> Fabulous. I used the webbing to thread the other plate, which will
> become Smart Kid's when I get another wing for it. The sausage is
> safely tucked in with my rig.
>
> Have I told you I love you lately?

xxoo

>> I only ask out of brand loyalty and curiosity.
>
> Naturally. Check out how smart she is.
>
> Day 1 of the pool sessions, she's gotta have all her "personal gear."
> So I dig out my snorkle, and fix it, so she'll meet the course
> requirements. She looks at it, and asks "What's the duct tape for?"
>
>
> I tell her "That's where the nail goes." She just looks at me like
> I'm weird.
>
> After the first pool sessions, she says "I hate snorkles," and then
> went on to list the litany of reasons why no sane SCUBA diver should
> wear one. I told her what the nail was for, and now she's all excited
> to tack it up on the wall.
>
> It's gonna be cool having a dive buddy I can boss around for once. :)


Go, Baby, go!!

"Jerome's Sock Puppet" <jerome.oneil@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1150142440.693174.35080@f14g2000cwb.googlegro ups.com...
> Really.
>
> She's getting her OW certification done. Yesterday was her second set
> of checkout dives. She's been excellent in the water to date, and has
> been enjoying it. She has a 16 year old girl's irrational fear of
> seaweed, but otherwise she's gonna be a good diver once I get her
> trained up right.
>
> So she's on her first dive of the day, and she has a block, but instead
> of coming back up in the water column, she decides "I can clear this"
> and keeps on descending. Naturally, she gets the pain. Her instructor
> brought her back to the beach, and I fed her some Sudafed and some warm
> tea in hopes of clearing her tubes.
>
> So she's sitting on the bench, and she's getting cold. I can see her
> lips are getting a little blue, and she's tired already. Time comes
> and she's gearing up. I'm watching her close, as is her instructor as
> she looks like she's losing focus. Her ear still wasn't popping. She
> stops. Things aren't just so. I can tell just by looking at her, but
> I want to see what she's gonna do.
>
> "Not today" she says, and steps out of her gear. Girl called her
> first dive. Awesome.
>
> She's going back in tomorrow to finish up the cert course. Then I'll
> teach her to dive.
>
> I've already got her a set of titanium Spare Air doubles, just like
> mine.
>


Good for you two!

My girl will be doing her certification in August when we get back from
Europe. Right now I'm a bit tired of spending time at the pool. This
weekend was the State Swimming Championship. Four days of sitting in the
sun for hours just to watch your kids spend a few minutes in the pool. Next
weekend is another meet. Sometimes I just want to say: "Enough!, I want my
life back." But it's for the kids. It keeps them off the streets. And it
really makes a difference. I've watched my ten-year old daughter set goals
for herself and work hard to achieve them. That's an important life lesson
that many adults my own age have yet to learn.

Keep spending time with your girl.



suds

Jerome's Sock Puppet wrote:

snip......

>
> It's gonna be cool having a dive buddy I can boss around for once. :)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

*

"Jerome's Sock Puppet" <jerome.oneil@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1150142440.693174.35080@f14g2000cwb.googlegro ups.com...
> Really.
>
<snip>

Congrats to you both!

Dennis