Kai, this is your baby sister. You’re going to have to share waves with her one day.
Since my last installment of Raising a Grommet, my family has undergone quite a bit of change (e.g. We are now raising grommets… emphasis on the “s”). I should preface with the fact that my wife and I had decided awhile back that we would throw in the towel after two kids (there’s no way we ever want to be out-numbered), so this is it for us. Now it’s time to simply foster our tiny clan and get this parenting business dialed in. Enough change for us… for now.
But, the reality of our situation is that we were always planning and preparing for what’s to come next. However, now that we’re seemingly there, it’s dawned on me that the reality of change comes with each dirty diaper and spilled bowl of Cheerios on the kitchen floor. And it also comes with each monumentally long sleeping stint and giant leap off of something entirely too high for someone my son’s age to leap from.
Much like surfing—where the reality of change comes with each set rolling through the lineup, and even with each little section or backwash warble—raising two children with style and patience, the thrill is always in the ride.
I think that’s why we all do what we do in the ocean every chance we get: The unknown outcome and the possibility of pleasant surprises. Although, unpleasant slaps in the face are a very common occurrence for people like you and I, the moments that make us grin from ear-to-ear are the ones that we live for.
That’s really why we surf, isn’t it? Those unassuming sessions that end up making your season, those waves that looked unmakeable yet you miraculously made it to the shoulder and kicked out safely, and even those surf trips that looked bleak on the forecast but Mother Nature churned up a bit of her secret recipe just for you and your buddies that week. If everything was like the Wavegarden, surfing wouldn’t be surfing—although, I would LOVE to get my feet wet in a Wavegarden one day, just to change things up.
Surfing is constant adaptation to reality. You dream about it all day in your cubicle, the whole ride home on the 405 gridlock, and then even when you try to get to sleep… it festers within your soul.
The unknown is what life is all about. Too much planning, anticipation, and expectation eventually leads to disappointment (in my humble opinion, of course). Having no plans and simply rolling with the punches leads to a life of whimsical discoveries and hidden treasures.
While many people in modern society get stuck in corporate routines and become marionette puppets for mediocrity, surfers deviate from this systematic half-heartedness. Surfers live vigorously for the next thrill and passionately for their next great ride.
This is what separates us. As for my family and I, we take each stride with great care and humility. And for my son, Kai: Meet your new baby sister. Please be nice to her and protect her. She’s going to be coming with us to the beach from now on, and you’re going to have to share waves with her one day.
Life is fantastic. Especially when you surf. And raising a family that revolves around the ocean is something special. Even as I write this, my son tugs at my pant leg and I have to break… He wants to play.
If you take anything from this, I urge you to embrace every moment of your normal life as you do your life in the water. It’s why we love to surf, and if we all embrace our everyday idiosyncrasies like we do our moments silently sitting on our boards staring off into the horizon, you may just find each day filled with a bit more magic. Those magical moments are why we all started surfing in the first place, right? Bring them to the office (and especially home), too. Stoke is contagious.
