I’ve always been happy in the ocean. The power of the waves and being at their mercy is amazing. Today I got to share my happy place with someone I love.
My parents have always been ocean people. Before I was born they were prize-winning windsurfers. They sailed between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Dad was a surfer. I have early memories of being in a boat with Dad. I must have been pretty young because I was sucking the salt out of my life jacket.
Life doesn’t suck…
because being in the waves is my happy place.
We spent a lot of time in and on the water growing up. Many weekends were spent at Sandy Bay in the waves. I have many fond memories of getting flippers and boogie boards, then swim fins and bodyboards. The best birthday or Chrismas presents were always boards or wetsuits.
Family trips to the beach were the best. As I grew more and more confident waves became bigger and bigger. I started buying bodyboarding magazines. I drew perfect waves. All the famous surf breaks became lodged in my mind.
As I got older priorities changed. I didn’t get to spend as much time in the water. My bodyboard spends more time in its bag on a shelf in the garage than in the ocean.
Today we went to Oakura. My fiancee’s eleven-year-old was super keen to go for a swim and catch some waves. I burnt my shoulders pretty badly a couple of days ago and had managed to forget my rash shirt. I promised I’d go in up to my waist since I only had boardshorts and a t-shirt.
Long story short the more she enjoyed it the more I was willing to get wet. I ended up wet up to my shoulders and we had an amazing time. I got to show how much fun the waves were and had a great time teaching her how to ride them. I’m grateful to get to share my waves with someone I care about and see the enjoyment they got from them. Next time I will make sure I have my board too, so we can enjoy it together.
Current gratitude streak: 33 days
Did you miss my post from yesterday? Read it here Gratitude, Day 32: I’m grateful for our free pool