Jill Smokler passed away this morning, according to her Facebook Page and Instagram page.  While many of us had a feeling this was coming, the fact that is really DID is still staggering.  She was one of us. Truly. 

I first met Jill online way back in the early days of blogging. I started Vodkamom when my writing needed a place to take seed and grow.  She was one of a group of women (and men) who helped to water those seeds.  

There was a group of us who would go from one blog to another leaving snarky comments and funny anecdotes on each other’s blogs. To me, she was one of the gang, and it wasn’t until my first blogging conference that I realized that she was kindof a big deal. (To put it mildly.)   

I met her along with a group of other amazing women, and we all just hung out together. We would sit at tables together at the various sessions, go to lunch together and then meet up at various evening events. She was one of the girls who was so easy to talk to, to laugh with and to share stories with. She was one of us. 

I will always remember her kindness. 

I will always remember that she took the time to visit my blog and leave comments. 

I will always remember that she answered all of my emails, even the ones sent late at night after several martinis. 

I will always remember that she made sure I was included when we were at conferences together. 

Shit. 

This life is a crazy, unexpected and often painful ride.  The highs are very high, and the lows are heartbreaking.  But as we all know, in the end, “we are all just walking each other home”.   

Not sure why some have to go home way too early…

Much to our great surprise, on one of our snorkels in January we stumbled upon an Octopus out in the open and we were stunned. I have seen them in nooks and crannies here and there while snorkeling over the years, but NEVER have I seen one out in the open. 

We spotted Octavia in mid January, and then noticed a few more tucked in nooks and crannies around the spot where we snorkel. 

As the days progressed, we made it a point of snorkeling there every day and found where she was living. We knew it was her by some particular markings on her, either by an arm she re-grew or by a bite from another sea creature. 

We were very patient each time we saw her, hovering over her den and waiting endlessly for her to come out.  One day - maybe three of four days later- she emerged and went for a swim with us.  We were so excited and stunned.  She returned to her den eventually, and we swam away.

We continued this daily ritual as best we could, weather permitting, and it went about the same way. She would eventually work herself out of her den, follow us as we drifted away from her den, and then when we thought we were a bit far from her home, we would turn and she would FOLLOW us back to her lair. 

IT WAS INCREDIBLE!  

She got so used to us, that she wouldn’t even attempt to camouflage herself, or spread out and change colors if we got close. She did that the first couple of times, but then didn’t really care how close we got to her. 

One day last week we went to see her, as per our usual daily snorkel, and she was a bit reluctant to emerge.  She did, however, after we decided it might be nice to just leave her alone, and we followed her this time.  I’m so glad we did, because she put on a beautiful, colorful show for us.  

She spread her arms, first in her natural, brown and white colors, and then began what can only be described as posing. I swam down to the bottom (of three feet of water, mind you) to take shots of her from the side.  It didn’t matter how close I got, she simply looked at me each time, displaying the beautiful colors we had seen when we first encountered her. 

After about 20 minutes or so, she began making her way back to her lair, and we followed.  We waved goodbye, and were thrilled at the show. 

We returned the next day, and we were disappointed to find her cave empty. We thought perhaps she was out hunting for food, and returned the next day. 

It was empty. 

We have since returned daily in the hopes of seeing her, but alas, her lair is completely empty. Except for the large, bully squirrelfish that has since made it his home.  

I’ve decided that she simply went to find a new and nicer home, and will leave it at that.  We are incredibly grateful for the amazing, magical experience that she gave us.  She reminded me that at any day, at any given time, you need to be ready for a little bit of magic.  

Open your eyes, and get ready. 

I am fortunate to be staying in a lovely home right across the street from the beautiful beach, and Janice lives right next door. We grab our gear and walk across the street almost daily to enjoy the beauty of the Caribbean.  We are often lucky enough to see turtles, lobsters, stingrays and so many other creatures right in our own front yard.

In one of our favorite snorkeling areas we have found several large pieces of rock or coral that have provided safe homes for the two or three octopuses. (Yes, the plural form IS octopuses.) We have seen several out in the open recently- another FIRST- and returned yesterday to see what we might find. 

In one of the octopus’s “homes”, we saw one tucked in the hole with one of its large eyes watching at us as we hovered above. The water is only about 2 feet deep in this spot, so we were very close to the beautiful creature.  

We hovered there for a while, maybe ten  minutes or so, and I decided to swim around the area to see if I could find another one out in the open. (I'm a bit restless, you see.) A very patient Janice stayed right where she was, very vigilant in her quest to coax the octopus out of its hole. We are both fans of the Netflix movie "My Octopus Teacher", and are convinced that these creatures are intelligent and curious.

Eventually I came back to her right when her efforts began to pay off.  The creature inched its way out of the hole, forming a kind of teepee as it emerged.  It came out inch by inch, watching  us watch him.  It came all the way out, and elegantly swam slowly into the turtle grass! 

We followed it carefully, shocked and elated to see what was happening!  It swam slowly, as curious about us as we were about him. It only swam about six feet away from its home, and then stopped and spread its arms out.  We were captivated and delighted by this show.  

A few minutes later it made its way slowly back to its home, finding his way into a smaller crevice beside its original shelter.  It obviously didn’t fit, so it slowly came out again and went right next door to the larger hole and settled in, watching us the whole time. 

Janice and I were stunned and exhilarated by the whole experience! Honestly I have never seen anything like it, and I am still stunned.  I learned several lessons that day about patience, curiosity and the beauty of the ocean and the creatures that live there.  

I’m going to share the pictures that begin with spotting it, then its curious emergence and its journey with two thankful and ecstatic snorkelers and its return home. 

We were blessed for sure. 

Enjoy!!