O My Dear, Sweet, and Neglected Blog,
Hello! Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012! What a wonderful
year 2011 was! I absolutely loved it. Yes, loved it. So I am very excited to see how 2012 goes. So
far, it’s been great!
I went surfing today and it was great. It was actually
awesome. I was in the water for about 2 hours which isn’t normal for me. Typically
I get tired in 30 minutes and then end up leaving in 45minutes. So, 2 hours is
a major accomplishment for me! And I think the difference today was that I was
enjoying it all. Mel, my lovely friend who coached me and allowed me to use her
board, was in the water giving me tips and encouragement to, “keep moving!”
lol. It was great.
I actually caught quite a few waves today! Not that many,
let’s not get carried away, but for me, in my world, I caught the most waves in
the entire world. I love how when you’re
new to something, small accomplishments are actually monumental J Not only did I catch a
few waves, but I also turned and shifted my board a bit. Typically, I am so
super excited that I caught a wave and that I stood up and so I just ride the
wave in without paying attention to how I am using the board. Today though, I
just thought, “I should go left” and moved the board left! Ah, it was
exciting! What a lovely time!
However, shortly afterwards, maybe 30minutes after I got out
of the water, the shark alarm went off.
Ah, that’s rather scary. And that’s
one of the things I struggle with the most about surfing. No, it’s not really
the actual sport that hinders my approaching it, it’s more my fear of the ocean
and of the sharks. Now, I love the ocean. It is amazing. I am not sure how I am
going to part with it come June, but it’s still terrifying. It’s very powerful!
You could get caught in a rip tide or undertow and get pulled far away.
Sometimes, I will be standing just fine in shallow water and a wave will come
in and the water will be up to my neck. So the shifting of the ocean is a big
deal for me, it tends to make me nervous.
I’ve learned to cope with this a bit. I try to pay attention
to the current and the wind. I realize that my lack of knowledge about the
ocean is in part to blame for my fear. For example, while we were surfing Mel
turned to me and said, “I think we should get out, look at the current over
there.” And she pointed to a spot a stone throw away from us. I looked, and
sure enough the current was insane. Had she not been in the water with me, I
wouldn’t have noticed and could have maybe been caught in that nasty water. So,
awareness.
And then, of course, the great white shark. Enough said.
But then again, shark attacks are not that common and if I
use my judgment I should be okay. For example, I should not surf at night or
just at dawn, that’s when sharks like to hunt. I should not surf when the sea
is murky and the sharks can’t see you well and you can’t see them at all.
Yea. Small things can make a big difference.
Anyways, happy new year!
I will post more soon, and PLEASE remind me to tell you about my Christmas!
Love,
Isa
