#25 Love Defined

Okay, the other day I was doing my thing working on the computer as I do to pay the bills. I was due to get off in 15-minutes at 3:00. I had planned on playing with the groms in the afternoon before the official dinner/bath/bedtime routine was due to commence. My wife had to teach a pilates at 6:00 so I was on the solo creep. No complaints I definitely have a house-dad mentality. Just then as I was contemplating my afternoon the phone rang...it was my wife who was chillin' at her friends house for a bit.

She says, "You're almost off right?! I heard the waves are good...you should go surf! I'll be home in a few minutes!"

That's love y'all!

She came home. I charged it to the beach. It was sizey, fairly clean, but a bit fat on the outside due to the tide. I opted to grab my fins to bodysurf the inside. I had some fun, heaving barrels!!!

My wife really stoked me out with that gesture. For all of you other surfers out there I am sending you good vibes that the people in your lives recognize the positive influence surfing has on your life and supports your desire/need to get in the water! And for you non-surfers...thanks for the understanding!

#24 Passing it on...

I am a surfer, obviously. Surfing...the ocean...the sand...the sun...the sea creatures are an intimate part of who I am. Really we're all ONE thing but that's not the subject for today. I grew up in southern California by the beach. The beach became my definition of fun. My folks would take my Sister and I to the beach when we were young to play in the sand and explore the tide pools. A couple times a year my folks would have beach cookouts with their friends and my sister and I would bring our little crew along. Those were always special times because now not only did we have the beach, but we had a whole camp full of scrumptious food! My mom is an exquisite chef by hobby & her best friend is a exquisite chef by profession....I'm talking seafood smorgasbord! In junior high/high school my Friends and I would get ourselves to the beach to ride the waves, snorkel or just hang out in the sand. Going to the beach was always guaranteed to grant us a good time!

I am so thankful for my parents relocating our family from Ossining, NY to SoCal when I was 5. And I am thankful for all the beach time they granted me. I really owe my love of the ocean to them. Even though my Dad rarely went into the water and my Mom cannot swim they introduced me to beach. Once the relationship developed I explored it in different ways...

Now I am a father of two and, lo and behold, I take the girls to the beach ALL the time. The ocean has given me so much that I would love to pass on that gift for them to explore as they see fit.

And with that generosity of spirit in mind it gave me so much pleasure to watch as my 4 year old daughter eagerly & joyfully scraped all the old wax off my surfboard : )