I have told this story so many times and in so many different ways but I thought it would be appropriate to describe how my life has changed since Ben and surfing have come into my life. I won't get into the gooey details. More so I want to describe how the ideas about my future changed as soon as I heard those words come from his mouth, "I surf".
We both come from America's heartland, good ole' Indiana. The biggest body of water near us was Lake Michigan. Surfing only crossed my mind when I was little and tried to stand on a surf board in my grandmothers pool. Our first conversation on the day we met was primarily about adventures. He already had asked me to hike the Appalachian Trail with him, spilled his love for surfing, and invited me to go road tripping to concerts. We were hitting it off. I really had no idea what I was actually in for.
The first time I went to his college house there were surfboards on the walls, skateboards all over the place, and "Thicker Than Water" playing on the TV. This was the first of many surf videos to come. It took me awhile to understand what surfing was all about and why it was such a great lifestyle. That is until I spent a summer on the Outer Banks of NC that I finally could understand my boyfriend. It was very important to me to feel what he felt out in the water and to hear what he described as the best sound in the world. That sound is of the fin hitting the water and the feeling is complete elation. I worked on my own surfing for about a month until I caught my first real wave. I was slowly beginning to understand. It was more than a hobby, it was a lifestyle. The lifestyle meant that if I were to marry this man someday we would be limited to coastal living. Not that this is bad but it certainly can put a strain on cost of living and location choices. It really never crossed my mind to live near the ocean. In fact, all I decided at that time was that I wanted to leave my hometown and see what the West was like. The lifestyle also means that each day depends on the tides. If the tide is right, we go surfing. Put all else aside and get in the water. I would learn to adjust to constant Weather Channel television and tide books all over our house. We took numerous trips to the Outer banks each year while we dated and when we were back in Indiana for the school year, he would get very cranky over missing the ocean. It is also when we no longer watched blockbuster hits on TV, we would watch countless surf videos over scrambled eggs and toast. I developed my own infatuation for the water, the ocean, and ultimately surfing.
We now live in Northern California where the surf is big, sharky, and very cold. I am finding myself frequently torn between our mountains directly east of us and the ocean 5 blocks west from our house. Weekend adventures now depend on high or low tides considering our best surf break kicks up at low tide. Ben runs out there unabashed and I am left staring a bit longer at the swell coming in contemplating whether or not I may die out there.
Therefore, I have discovered my joy of surfing comes with warm, rolling, waist high waves and a long board. Four years ago I never would have imagined myself waking up at 6:00am to drive north on California's coast for an early morning surf with my husband. Four years ago I never thought that the magnitude and power of the ocean would impact my life so much.
So as life goes, you paddle out, you swallow salt water, catch and ride the wave.
No comments:
Post a Comment