I’ve wanted to take surf lessons since last summer.
How can I live at the shore almost 40 years and not be a surfer girl?
Last year I had every other reason not to do it.
What if the water was too cold?
Did I really want to wear a rented wet suit?
I got as far as shopping for a bathing suit, at which point I swiftly reconsidered the surfer girl idea.
This summer I decided would be the summer I stop the excuses and do it.
I find the Web site of a surf school in Belmar and start reading up on surfing 101.
One of the first things I learn is you need to hold the board the right way, or the force of a wave can lift it and smack it right up against your face. This is usually not a fatal situation, but could require significant tooth reconstruction.
I go from imagining myself coming out of the water, high from riding some rad waves to seeing myself in bed, suffering a painful recovery from dental surgery.
Still, I want to take surf lessons and I don’t let this deter me.
I mention the lesson to a friend and ask if he thinks he might want to join me (I leave out the board-in-the-face part). No, he says. He recently watched a biopic about Jack Kevorkian and it opens with a surfer having an accident that leaves him so terribly wounded, he asks Jack to pull the plug.
This makes me pause.
But only briefly.
They say the same thing about yoga, I tell myself. One wrong move in headstand and you can be done for. And if I learned today that yoga could kill me, no way would I stop practicing.
Even if I only do it one time, this is the summer I stand up on a wave and rightfully claim the title surfer girl.
Stay tuned …
i say go for it, sounds exciting just be careful. you might hate it, you might love it.
ReplyDeletea few years ago i decided to try skiing, went to vermont with my significant other who is sort of an expert since he's been skiing since he could walk or just about. i was in my mid to late thirties. usually people start young, really young. so there i was on my first lesson, instructor said i did well with the curves and then said it was time to go on the bunny slope! i thought we were on the bunny slope, when i saw the slope itself i just couldn't get the courage to do it, plus the fact that toddlers were actually doing better than i was wasn't helping my self-esteem . i didn't even enjoy skiing so why should i scare myself half to death for something i don't even enjoy. so i went with a friend to get a nice cup of hot cocoa. the next day i tried cross-country skiing since they said there were no slopes. they don't tell you that there are little ups and downs that can definitely affect your speed. so i exchanged the skis for snow shoes and hiked the area. can't say i didn't try.
Thanks for the comment, Rosa - you are a brave soul!
ReplyDeleteSurfing isn't my thing.But, the great sport of downhill skiing is for me. There is nothing like new snow on an empty slope. It is a great meditation. And my practice of yoga with all of the balance poses have improved my skiing. This is from a 70+ yogi and skier.
ReplyDeletePat
Pat, you put me to shame. Btw, you should try the slopes in SLC if you like the powder snow.
ReplyDeleteR.W. Yogi, thanks for the compliment but I can hardly see myself as brave since I wasn't able to force myself to go down the bunny slope!
Rosa - I trust by SLC, you mean Utah. The past two seasons I have skied at Deer Valley in Utah, and will be back there again.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the guts to try surfing.
Hello Anonymous, yes I mean Salt Lake City, Utah. They have Alta and Snowbird ski resorts. If you can ski there I'm am positive you have the guts to try surfing. Skiing in Utah with 6 ft of powder snow beneath you and the always present possibility of an avalanche I can't imagine surfing being more dangerous. Do it!
ReplyDelete