Her Daughter's Wish

The mother had follicular lymphoma stage 4. She needed a break and so did Taylor. So they made the trip to the coast. There is something special, almost spiritual about the ocean. Taylor had been bugging her mom for the last 3 days about wanting to try and surf. The mom told me that because of her health there was no way she was going to be able to grant that wish for her daughter. The mother was doing her best to "duck dive" the disease. 

The Father that cares for His children and hates to see them suffer orchestrates the meeting of a young girl and an old surfer.

While visiting the Texas coast with some very good friends I wanted to try, for the second time, stand up paddle surfing or SUP.  The first couple of hours of SUP took place in the bay with my wife and our friends.  But I wanted to SUP in the surf, so off we went to one of my frequented surf spots.  The ocean was a little rough and was a challenge for a beginner to SUP.  I just had to try it regarless of my lack of experience.  I just laid on the board like I would a surfboard and tucked the paddle between my chest and the board. Like a surfboard, I would paddle enough to catch the wave, stand up, reach down and grab the paddle and SUP.

My last ride into the beach a little girl, a third grader, meets me and says to me, "I wish I could learn how to surf."  I just smiled at her and laughed to myself on the subtleness of this third grader.  My heart was stirred, moved, touched or whatever you call it.  I am sure that you have felt that "heart tug" at some time in your life.  I try to pay attention and respond to its pull.  Twenty feet away was the mother and so I asked her if it would be ok for me to teach the girl to surf.  The mother, with tears beginning to appear in her eyes, said "Taylor would just love that."

Carrying the board back to the shoreline where Taylor was playing, I ask her if she would like to try surfing. Making sure she had approval from her mother, she broke into a smile as big as the Texas Coast. Before I could give her some instructions I had to assure her that we didn't have to worry about sharks.

It was her first time on a surfboard (SUP) and she stands up and now she understands the Beach Boys song Catch a Wave "and you will be sitting on top of the world" even though she may have never heard of the Beach Boys.

"Mom look, I'm surfing!"  "Mom did you see that!"  "I'm pretty good, aren't I mom?!"  I would push the lillte girl into wave after wave. Now I am laughing and swallowed up in her wide-eyed, third grader's joy.

Afterwards the mother can't stop thanking me for teaching Taylor how to surf.  "Are you kidding, thank you for allowing me to share in her joy!", I told her.

A little girl with a full life ahead of her and a young mother who is fighting for each day teaches me about living.  Just think, I almost walked away from this little girl's request. "I wish I could learn how to surf."  Thank you Taylor's mom and Taylor for reminding me that life's joys can be hidden behind the thin curtain of selfishness.  It is always better to give.  Thank You. "You got to duck dive."

The Only Sport where...

 It wasn't big enough for the peak to be breaking.  Clear water, sunshine made for a great day in the water.  I was surfing with my brother who is able to raise the "fun meter" better than anyone.  We had been catching our share of waves and laughs.  We decided to paddle over to another break.  I had just popped up on the other side of a wave after duck diving.  Swinging my head back in order to get the saltwater out of my eyes I look up to view a professional surfer cruising just feet from me.  He had caught a wave on the outside and smiling like a kid, drives down the line and then kicks out.  Now we are sitting in the line up with my brother, the pro and his friends, enjoying the fluid of wet energy.

If I mentioned the pro's name you would recognize him.  You have seen him in surf movies and in the magazines.  Surfing is the only sport where you can be on the same "field" as the professionals.  You are not going to run into a professional golfer while playing 18 holes at your local course.  Do you think that you would ever meet a NBA player at your local YMCA and get the chance to play on the same court?  Not even!  Would any of these high dollar paid professionals even let you play on the same field with them?

The pro surfer doesn't own the ocean, even though they respect it and take care of it like they do.  Everyone having fun.  Sharing the ocean. Yes, they are better than me by a mile.  It doesn't mean that I am having less fun than the pro.

I am a nobody.  Nothing I have done gets my picture in the magazines or on film.  Even so, may I never think too highly of myself that I can't share the joys of life with others.  Yes, there are a few things that I can do better than someone else, doesn't make me more valuable or important.

The only sport where you and I can play where the pros play at the same time that the pros are playing.

A slogan from surf clothing line, "ONLY A SURFER KNOWS THE FEELING".

LAST DAY OF A SURF TRIP

After months of planning and saving every penny you can the day comes when you are packing the van with surfboards and camping gear for a week of surfing. If you are really lucky maybe you are packing your boards in a surf-bag to be flown to some exotic location. It doesn't matter where you are going and for how long, the excitement of sharing good waves with my kids is the same.

The last day of a surf trip is a strange day. In my mind I want it to be the best, a day that gets marked in my memory as the day my life made sense. Sitting in the line up with my kids is a spiritual experience. There is not a lot of talking. No one wants to acknowledge that we are going to have to say goodbye to mother ocean and to each other and none of us wants to face that reality. However, it never plays out the way I imagined it in my head. Maybe, that is the problem. I want to orchestrate this perfect ending to a great trip instead of allowing the memories of the previous days summarize the experience.

Upon returning to my daily routine plans are being made for the next trip.

Life's lesson: my daughter and her husband just moved to Sao Paulo to teach for two years. I knew this day was coming and at first I wanted to plan the last day with them to be the best. But, then I remembered the lesson of the "last day of a surf trip". I allowed my mind to summarize the memories of our times together. I can still hear the laughter of my daughter and the loving bantering between her and her husband. I smile. A tear. My heart is full. Full of love.

I have stopped worrying about the "last day". I have learned to cherish moments, big and small every day. I don't talk about the "last day", but about the next time we will meet and how much fun we will have.

LEARNING TO DUCK DIVE

Duck Diving: duck diving is the way that a surfer dives under an oncoming wave as he / she is paddling out. Duck diving under the wave ensures that all the progress made by paddling out is not lost by being washed backwards by the pounding waves. The bigger the waves, or the more frequent the waves are, the more important it becomes to be good at duck diving. This techniquie is a must if you want to surf sizeable waves.

This is true in my life. The wave of challenges that come my way I have learned to "duck dive". Not to run and gaze from the safety of the shore but to paddle with everything I have toward the foam of fear. It is on the other side that the ride of my life awaits.