Another Great Day

After a last-minute change of plans this morning, I headed to the beach for another day of surfing. Anticipating a surf day is awesome, but unexpected surf days are pretty great, too. I woke up at 9:00, which is the crack of dawn for me lately (don't hate), and was out the door by 9:30.

When I drove up to the surf shop, the owner just shook his head. He said, "Again?" You know it. A lady I've never met started filling out my paperwork to rent gear, and he came in and took over saying, "She's one of ours." Again with the bro deal. I was loaded up in five minutes and made my way to the beach. It was pretty empty (I'm so glad all the good people waste Sundays in church) and I was in the water quickly.

It was small again today, which I really like, but at first I had to work to find anything. I did do a lot of paddling (I can feel it tonight) and practiced messing around on my board while waiting for the waves. There were several other girls with boards and it felt great to have girl power out there. One woman was pretty close to me when we were both trying hard to find something to ride, and she kept looking and me and shaking her head. It picked up a bit (maybe 4') after a while, but the whole thing looked and felt like Waikiki (except for the ice cream headaches) - just glassy and rolling waves. It was so beautiful. And quiet. Jules has declared my knees off limits - no more riding on both knees; I'm committed to at least one knee and one foot from now on - but she wasn't there today, so it was knee rides all day! I had a couple of great ones - just long, curvy rides. It feels so nice to cruise in sitting up so tall. I can't imagine what taking a long ride on my feet will feel like. I did try to do more, but it just wasn't happening, so I mostly flopped around and really played with my board today. I love balancing on my belly, feet crossed, legs bent at the knee, and chin in my hands. The board just rolls over the baby waves and it feels so peaceful. I could almost sleep like that. I haven't had many days that mellow here. I enjoyed it.

I surfed for about 1 1/2 hours and then got out to rest and get a granola bar. When I was walking up to the sand a guy gave me a thumbs up and said I was hitting it hard out there. I was taking waves pretty aggressively - just trying to ride everything! When I got back in the water for the afternoon, I was surprised how quickly I tired out. I told myself I'd take five more rides, but after I did, I told myself: just five more. To be honest, I never wanted to get out of the water today. It felt awesome.

When I returned my gear the owner and another guy at the shop were helping me and questions about my situation came up. I told them I don't have a job. They said, "What do you do?" I said, "I surf and screw around, I guess." And then I said, "I used to be a banker." What a show-stopper. Maybe not many bankers surf. I hope I can leave that behind someday soon.

So tonight I'm tired and feeling really grateful that I was in the water today. It's supposed to get real big, too big for me, later this week, so I'm already wondering if I should get another day in tomorrow . . .