01/26/2026
Today, Jeff would have turned 65. 💜🌊
So I’ve been thinking about the ocean.
Jeff didn’t grow up with it. Coming from Oklahoma, he’d only seen it a handful of times — maybe Padre Island once or twice. I only had to mention the Caribbean, and suddenly we were planning a dive.
We became certified scuba divers, and before long, Jeff was advancing quickly — always curious, always wanting to go a little deeper.
One early morning in Grand Cayman, the water impossibly clear, Jeff wanted to descend beyond 100 feet. I told him I’d stay there and wait.
So there I was — suspended at 100 feet — watching my partner disappear into the blue below me.
Time stretched. Five minutes felt like forever.
I stayed where the oxygen was good, watching the light, holding steady.
Then I saw the bubbles.
They rose — and Jeff appeared, surfacing with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. Pure joy. Pure life.
On his birthday, I remember this:
Sometimes loving someone means staying where you can breathe, holding space, trusting they’ll rise again.
— In Rain & In Sunshine 💜
