~ Swimming With Flipper

In Australia, young aborigine boys are sent off on a spiritual journey in the wilderness for as much as six months as a rite of passage into manhood.

Boys as young as twelve, in the Amazon's Satere Mawé tribe, must wear ceremonial gloves filled with bullet ants, each causing 30 times more pain than a common wasp sting.

In one tribe in Papau New Guinea, boys undergo hundreds of excruciating razor cuts until their skin resembles the skin of a crocodile.

We considered all our options for Josiah's 13th birthday and decided to do our own thing to mark this transition in his life.

So with seven days in the Bahamas, Dad made sure his week was filled with all the things that make for a perfect coming of age ceremony:

leaving what is familiar and stepping out of his comfort zone,

coming face to face with a little danger,

dreaming about the future,

getting a special ring to mark the moment (more on that another time),

and making some lasting memories.

By far, one of the highlights for Josiah was getting to do a Dolphin Encounter on Paradise Island.

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When he called me that night, he was full of stories about getting to meet and swim with the real dolphin who played Flipper in the television show.

I'm pretty sure Flipper was not part of the "danger"; however, he did propel my son across the water at 30 mph!

As you can see, Flipper was a friendly fellow.

For Josiah, it was one of the highlights of his trip (as is evidenced by the big smile in the photos). I'm sure he liked it better than the alternatives.

Special thanks to Josiah's Granny & Papa whose generosity made this little life memory possible.