I’ve been thinking about our visit to the Sapphire Hole for a week now. I have other posts planned, and we visited almost two years ago already, but this story is calling me.

The reason I keep thinking about it? We’re in our 3rd lockdown, and it’s wearing on our children (and us grownups).

Sapphire Hole was such a valuable lesson in courage. Determination. Risk. Exhilaration. Faith.

The cliff ledge is at least 20’ off the water. I watched our oldest, eight at the time, cautiously peek over the edge. He wasn’t scared, but he also wasn’t excited. The other children looked. I saw our daughter’s face- she was six and she was scared. I instinctively knew he would jump and she wouldn’t.

As I peered over the edge my heart pounded.

Jack said he was going to jump. I watched him make a false start. And another. And another. Then he stood at the edge. He asked us to count, so we chanted, “1, 2, 3!” but he didn’t jump. Again we counted, “1, 2, 3!” and he didn’t jump. I was just about to say he didn’t have to jump when he took a deep breath and launched himself off the edge. I couldn’t believe it!

Seeing his face when he came up out of the water was something I’ll never forget. He was so proud and exhilarated, and determined to do it again.

And then I looked at our daughter’s face: afraid to jump and sad to miss out. One by one her cousins jumped as she watched quietly. I took her hand and told her I wasn’t jumping, but we would get in the water. She looked at me with relief and a hint of disbelief and said, “I don’t want to jump, Mommy, but I really want to swim down there.”

She and I climbed down— through bushes and branches and with her sheer faith in me as I dangled and lowered her over a ledge until her feet hit rock. It was nerve-wracking, muscle-straining work, but I got her (and me) in that sapphire blue water, and her shining happy face was worth it.

Jack risked the jump.

Maria risked the climb.

It was a lesson in courage, fear, determination, faith and exhilaration for all of us.

It was a lesson to me, to know my children and push them to their own personal limits. To accept each child’s limits, lead the way when needed, celebrate individual accomplishments, and not compare them to others.

And now, two years later, we still talk about Sapphire Hole. We talk about being scared, but doing something anyway. We talk about risks and rewards. We talk about a leap (or dangle) of faith. And we apply those lessons to our current covid life. Virtual school is reminding me all over again to meet each child where they are: accept their limits, lead where needed, celebrate individual accomplishments, and not compare.

When we visited Sapphire Hole, I never imagined the impact it would have, but I should have known…

Guest post by Jack, age 8

First we went in the car for about 20 or 30 minutes. It was stinky! It smelled like two dying skunks!

Then we got there. All of my cousins were there: Kevin, Tess, Tommy and Francis, and my brother and sister and my Nana and Poppy, and my mommy and my Aunt Lauren. We all were standing at the edge. I saw a very deep pool of water from very high up.

I was the first one to jump in.  As I was in the air jumping in, in my head I was yelling, “Ahhhhhhhhhh!” because it was so high up and I was excited and nervous!

So once I jumped in I thought, “Oh, I can do it again! This is fun!” and I swam for a couple of seconds and then I had to climb back up a rope and there were crabs on the rocks.

Tommy and Tess and Aunt Lauren jumped. We were the only ones who jumped from the highest cliff. Everyone else climbed down a little bit and then jumped. Poppy stayed with Danny and Francis for about two hours, and Francis was crying for half an hour because his mom was in the water.

And then I was climbing out. My cousin Tess was freaking out because she doesn’t like crabs. When I got back up I had a 30-second heart attack and then I jumped again. I jumped in 3 times! Thank you for taking me to the Sapphire Hole!

Good To Know:

Sapphire Hole is pretty high up there on my must-do list for families. With that said, this is not a one-adult-multiple-kids kind of place, especially if you have little ones. Out island life means no guard rails, fencing or barrier of any kind between you and a 20’ (some websites say 30’) drop into deep water! Also the rope to climb out is tricky to navigate. We had to help/push/haul some kids up because they didn’t have the arm strength to do it themselves. There is some discussion happening about a ladder coming soon, but I don’t know if or when that will happen. Also, there is no where to rest while treading water except the rocks you need to climb up on, which aren’t really for perching. Boogie boards, noodles, or any other floating device can significantly prolong swim time. Lastly, there is a way to get into the water without jumping (I didn’t jump!), but it’s tricky. I had to physically help/lower a child who didn’t want to jump. So… this is an awesome spot…. just know what you’re getting into!