When Patrick emailed me at work saying he was going to sign up to take a surf lesson, I was instantly reminded of the time we took surfing lessons in Costa Rica a few years back. Here is a short excerpt from our travel journal from April 2009:
It all sounded simple enough. Paddle, paddle, paddle, a wave starts to take you then breaks, and so you pop up in defensive stance and ride it in. EASIER SAID THAN DONE! After many wipeouts, you know, the kind where you get water up the nose and your foot feels like it's gonna rip off because the board is attached to your ankle, Pat was able to get up and ride in! He looked like a REAL surfer! Our instructor Rhama, gave him many high-fives and told him he was "gnarley." At least one of us was vindicated while I however, could not wait to get ashore and nurse my bruised, banged up body.
I remember well our Costa Rican surfing experience was complete when we had to push our instructor's old, beat up car out of the sand as he started it up to get it going. It was obvious Patrick was an emergent and interested surfer from this initial experience. We knew this budding skill set was to be explored further at a later date, which happened to be nearly 4 years later when we had to be at Folly Beach at 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning for his second ever surfing lesson.
As any new experience can bring on some jitters and uncertainty, we prepared some "liquid courage" in the form of Irish coffees before leaving the house. We were inspired by a very old bottle of Jameson we recently acquired on a trip to see my Nana in Virginia. My late grandfather's liquor cabinet is still fully stocked, so we thought we'd take a few bottles off Nana's hands. I had fun researching recipes, but in the end, our concoction was near perfect with brown sugar, Jameson and Bailey's added to our coffee, complete with a dollop of Cool Whip on top.
Once we arrived and tracked down Patrick's instructor, he jumped right in with some brief instructions on land, and the next thing I know, I look up and see him paddling on his board out in the water. As he was taking his lesson, I was more than happy to enjoy my coffee on the beach while people watching and taking in some of Mother Nature's early morning masterpieces.
As expected, there were many initial flops and wipeouts, but towards the end of the lesson, I was able to get some footage of Patrick's "gnarley" skills. Try not to blink while watching video, or you might miss it.
In the end, it takes courage and initiative to pursue something new out of your comfort zone. I am proud of Patrick for making our Saturday morning anything but ordinary, and I look forward to seeing how this new hobby reminds us to slow down from the dull routine of life, take in the moment and be grateful.
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