RemembeRED -- Hope

I hailed a cab today. That may not sound like much, but it’s actually evidence of a life changed.

I was abused as a child, and that abuse taught me to hope for survival. Hope for anything more was buried under the rubble of my shattered childhood.

Several years ago, my husband began encouraging me to get my scuba diving certification. He’s been certified for years and wanted me to dive with him. I didn’t think I could handle it. I suffer from anxiety and claustrophobia, but I agreed to take a discover scuba class at the local dive shop. It went better than I expected.

Then my husband signed me up for the online course to complete the book work just before our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and planned a vacation to Mexico that would include scuba diving. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to complete the work in time, but I did.

When we got to Mexico, he arranged for private confined water classes for me, even having the scuba instructor come to our hotel one morning to work on some of the training I was having particular trouble mastering. I didn’t think I’d ever learn to clear a mask, but I did.

This past December we went to Cozumel and I completed my open water dives and got certified as an open water diver. It was one of the proudest moments in my life. I never would have dreamed I’d be scuba diving, but my husband kept encouraging me, and with every success I had hope for more. We’re back in Cozumel this week for diving, fun, and relaxation.

Today I hailed a taxi and went into town and did some shopping, and then hailed another taxi back to the hotel.

So what does scuba diving have to do with hailing a taxi? Everything. If not for the discover scuba class, I never would have tried the online course. If not for the online course, I never would have done the confined water course. If not for the confined water course, I never would have completed the open water dives. And if not for the open water dives, I never would have considered hailing a cab in a foreign country. Scuba diving has given me hope.

For years all I wanted was to survive. But now . . . now, I hope to embrace all that life has to offer.

This week, we were asked to share a memoir featuring hope, expressed in 400 words or less.

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