Why I'll Never Go Swimming With Only One Flipper...Again!
- R.E.A.C.H. Team
- Aug 5, 2025
- 4 min read
I lived in the Cayman Islands for almost 10 years. I loved the Cayman Islands. I loved the people, the culture, the food—and of course, the sun, the sand, and the water.
But life there definitely wasn't always easy. Because the island is so small, the “haves” and the “have-nots” often live side by side. My wife and I were definitely closer being in the "have-nots" category. Still, we just happened to be in close proximity to a lot of “haves.” And because of that, we had some really cool experiences.
One of the most memorable ones came in the last three months we lived there. We were invited to house-sit for a Canadian couple who spent their summers up north. And lucky us, there home was right on the beach!
All we had to do was take care of their dog and make sure the pool stayed clean. Yes, we had our own in-ground pool for those three months. We got to experience what it felt like to live the good life in the Cayman Islands. It was the perfect way to end our time there!
Two brothers I was friends with asked me one day if they could come out and catch lobsters. I didn’t know much about lobstering, but I did know it had to be done in season. And I knew we were out of season. But their argument was: “It’s just the three of us. Just this once. It won’t be a big deal.” Their logic made sense to me at the time. So I agreed.
So one evening around 6:00, they showed up at the house, ready to swim out to the coral reef and catch some lobsters. They said they’d bring all the gear, but what we quickly discovered was that they had only brought five swimming flippers instead of six. One of us would have to go out with just one flipper. Since I considered myself a pretty good swimmer, and I wasn’t the one doing the actual lobster catching, I volunteered to be the one-flipper guy. Big mistake.
We headed out to the beach and started swimming toward the reef, which was about half a mile from the shore. They had their nets, their flashlights, their snorkeling gear, and their lobster-grabby-stick-thingies, and I had my one flipper.
The swim took longer than I expected, but we made it. When we finally got to the reef, the water was about 15 to 20 feet deep. We started spotting lobsters right away, and they managed to grab three or four. What we hadn’t factored in was the tide going out at that time of night. We started getting pulled out to sea.
Fortunately, there were these massive buoys out there with concrete bases about eight feet in diameter. We all climbed up onto one.
By this time, it was dark. The tide was pulling stronger. We knew we were in trouble, because if we got pulled to the other side of the reef, it would be a serious problem. We sat on the buoy for about 10 or 15 minutes before one of the brothers finally said, “Let’s just go.”
Both of them dove in and started swimming toward shore. I hesitated, but I followed. I quickly realized that every time I swam five strokes forward, the current pulled me about eight strokes back. That’s how I spent the next hour and a half: swimming five or six strokes forward, getting pulled back, swimming forward again, getting pulled back again.
The one thing that kept me going, that kept me from panicking or getting swept out to sea was that I could see the porch lights of the house. I believed that if I just focused on those lights, I’d be okay. I also knew that the second I took my eyes off those lights, I’d be in trouble.
So I kept going. Swim forward, get pulled back. Use that moment to rest, then swim again.
Forward. Pulled back.
Forward. Pulled back.
Forward. Forward. Forward.
Eventually, the water calmed enough that I knew I was going to make it.
But I never took my eyes off those lights.
And I truly believe that’s what kept me alive.
I’ve learned over the years that same principle applies to any struggle we go through. All of us go through dark, scary seasons. And the way we get through them is by keeping our eyes on the light. Whatever your “light” is, whether it’s your family, your faith, your art, music, sports, gardening, journaling, it’s important that you know what your lights are, and that you go to them during those dark times.
As adults who work with young people, it’s important that we help them figure out who and what the lights in their lives are too. I have a list of the people, places, and things that are lights in my life. I wrote them down. Because I understand something, when you write something down, you’re bringing it to life. If you just try to remember everything in your head, things get lost. Your mind is crowded with thousands of thoughts every day.
So that’s what I encourage you to do. Write down the lights in your life. The people. The places. The things that help you survive and reset during dark, scary times. And remember, as adults, we have to live it how we give it. If we expect our young people to build resilience, we have to model that behavior for them.
And when the tide is pulling you farther and farther from the shore…
Remember to always look toward your light.
Here's a real quick video from my one man show called The Gift Exchange that talks a little bit more about getting through what we're going through be finding our light.
As always, if you like this, share it with people you care about.
