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Published: December 21st 2013
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Yes, as of now, there is no need to claim I'm young anymore. Forty is a turn in anybody life...there is no need to claim we wish to do something in our life...if at forty you haven't done something with your life, it may simply be already too late...
This entry should be important, kind of a landmark. I took time to chose the pictures, took even time to put them in the right order. This entry should have been written on the 17th December...that's four days after my birthday. And here we are, the evening of the 21st December. Next stop is already Christmas...and still, I haven't had a minute to myself the last few days to write any line of this entry. A busy man, one who has goals...and two fun kids to take care about...may miss a lot of things in life...but for sure, I do not miss the essential!
If I do not write this entry, it will never happen...and yet, I just finished a dinner of chicken tarragon, green peas and pommes noisettes with the kids...and have a huge mountain of ironing to deal with. Yes, you guessed, we have
arrived home, but this is my next entry. For now, I have to write about the milestone I just crossed...with Leslie and Tiffany...diving...with the sea and the sun!
Forty...should be a big party....but as usual, I'm facing the same deal...it may be a small world...not everybody as the same idea as mine of the size of our little earth. My friends are all over...and I'm not...and I had no intention to spend my big day on internet with friends and family. So the choice was obvious...diving with my friends at Forra Diving on the Forra boat in Koh Lipe.
When it comes to friends...from all over....put it simply... when you a are an expat, you "most of the time" have more holidays than most...but you always try to come back "home for Christmas"...and 13rd December...is not ideal if your friend tell you to come to dive for a week. Fun to think I was having the same dilemma at school and university when my birthday was right in the exam time!
I knew about this way ahead...you add to this that some have kids way too young to go on a
"funny" boat...some don't have the holidays...some don't have the money...and simply, some simply don't dive...
So I went around...didn't want a party....just wanted to be with Leslie and Tiffany...to dive...and still throw some friends in the pan...here we are...with friends...in Lipe!
At 10 years old, you enjoy what your parents give you....at 20...it's time for dreams...and you'd better be at the top level of education if you want to reach them....at 30...you either have built...you either in the middle of the building...or you'll get nowhere....won't tell you where I was for my 30th birthday...
And at 40...well, it all depends...having two teenagers at home, of 13 and 11...I simply do not have the time to feel old...the run is everyday, the fun is everyday...and if you are asking, I know that the next 5 years will be challenging, but I'm more than ready for it...with fun...and a huge joy! Teenagers year, I'm here to face you...hopefully to the best!
So we went back to dive first from Lipe, than on the Forra boat all the way to the South of Phuket on Racha Noi. We had done 20
months ago the ride from Lipe to Phi Phi. You can find that trip on travelblog.org in the middle of April 2012. This time we spent a full four nights on the boat. The last time they saw a whaleshark in Lipe, was "my" whaleshark, at 8 Miles. Sadly for my friends, as well as Leslie and Tiffany, no whaleshark this week. But we got some amazing time...we had the mantas...and even few leopard sharks....
And what did I get for my birthday...pretty simple...Tiffany is now a Padi Junior Open Water, and Leslie is a Padi Advanced Junior Open Water. That's the beauty about life, you receive even more from the joy of those who surround you. I once had a girlfriend who told me she had no idea what to offer me because I had everything I wanted...how wrong was she about life...life is not about receiving, it's about sharing!
Thanks to Flo and Donatien to make these moments a smooth ride for Leslie and Tiffany. It was a pretty easy affair for Leslie....he has already been diving way behond that level for quite a while...I'm not going to go into details here!
For Tiffany, she may have had 12 bubble maker dives...it was back to the basic...as for now, it's time to learn to dive not anymore as a child, but as a young adult, dealing with the challenges and responsabilities of the diving world. They did both pretty well!
My rule on these "training" is pretty simple. I do not get involved with my kids while they are with their instructors. That distance is the way to let them understand they have to deal with the fact of being responsible. But on our last dive...on the last one of the week...we dive toghether. I had done few dives this week with Leslie, due to the fact...that he is going down with everybody else...but that dive with Tiffany, Leslie...and Flo....what a dive...and thanks a lot Flo for that moment I will never forget.
The dive site of our first proper family dive had nothing amazing, but that's ok, for me, it was all about my kids...and not much about the site....diving with your two kids together...is just...something!
Well....seems that I could write this entry....and for the week, just look at
the pictures. I could have written a lot more, but as you may guess, it was not much about me, but more about Leslie and Tiffany being with me....because put it simply, on my 30th birthday, I was far away from this. A lot has happened the last 10 years...I'm finally where I always wanted to be...just with a lot more to built in the future...imagine, in 15 years, I could be a Grand Dad...and that's....could soon look like tomorrow...
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Blowing bubbles
Good to see you diving again. Great family shots.