Admiring My Right Thumb
I decided today that injuries are really another great way to create and spark memories. For example, the day that we had our Kidability going-away party at Kincaid Park, I slammed my right thumb in a room divider. Now, I have a beautiful quarter-arc rainbow that has grown from the base to halfway up my nail. I’m going to be sad when it grows out the end. Right now it serves as such an immediately satisfying reminder of the kids and families I love in Alaska.
Today I went on a couple dives. Although I still always get nervous before my first one, they went without incidence. Although no sharks gave me a staredown or turtles let me ride on their back, I was once again mesmerized by the beautiful other world: corals swaying, eels peeking, painted clams–well, clamming up. To my delight I also saw many older, bigger cousins of the fish that I peered at in captivity in my fishtank. After the last dive, while we were cleaning up on the boat’s deck, one of the divemasters pointed out a small 3-4 inch fish that somehow had ridden aboard on someone’s wetsuit. He motions for me to rescue it and toss it back to sea. First attempt, it slithers and flops back on board further away from the edge. I try again, determined to save it’s little finned life, realizing that it actually resembles “Grumpy,” a goby I had in my tank. This time I manage to close it in and am figuring out how to sling it over the smaller boat next to us when–YEOW!–the little brat latches his teeth into my thumb. I yelp and immediately fling him away, where the laughing divemaster easily scoops and saves him in less than 2 seconds. Now, on the underside of my right thumb is this 1/2-inch bluish purple bruise with a tiny little bite mark in the middle. I think I’ll look at it as “Grumpy’s Revenge” for all the saltwater fish I so ignorantly led to death and flushing in Anchorage.
Tags: diving, Thailand, Thailand
bimpy_ak
You are certainly the queen of adventures!
Kristin and I had a proper Thai – going away – dinner last night…..
you girls have a wonderful time….
Cheers~
Katherine