Abigail only asked for one thing for her sixth birthday – a surfing lesson. She’s been begging to go surfing for more than eight months. I couldn’t find anywhere that would give her a lesson until she turned six. Her daily mantra for several weeks before her birthday became, “How many more days until I turn six? How many days until I can surf?” Finally, two days after her birthday, she got her wish. We took the girls out to Pensacola Beach and they had a private lesson with a surf instructor. Steve and I talked the night before. We were fairly certain that Gracie was going to be a natural – she has amazing balance and unbelievable upper body strength. We were just hopeful that Abigail would be able to get up on the board at least one time. She’s so little and her balance isn’t quite what Gracie’s is. But, we knew that Abigail would enjoy herself even if she fell down.every.single.time. Yeah, that conversation was pretty much a waste of time. Because, here’s what happened:
She was an absolute natural. She was able to get herself up almost every single time she went out. The water was fairly rough that day, but our girl gave it her all and did incredibly well. I was so proud of her. She listened to the teacher, who was very patient and gentle with her, and she tried her very best. More times than not, she would catch the wave and ride it all the way in to shore. People sitting on the beach actually clapped for her. But, she was so focused that she didn’t even notice.
Gracie did well, too. But, she had two things working against her. The night before, she read a book about two surfers who died in rough surf. Now, I don’t think the rough surf they were talking about was the kind of rough surf we had, but when Gracie gets something in mind, it’s almost impossible to get her to let go of the idea. So, she had that working against her. Then, she had a pretty big wipe-out early in the lesson and the board ended up hitting her in the head. So, she was pretty much done after about fifteen minutes. She says she wants to try again when the water is calmer. I’m just glad that she’s willing try try again.
Abigail would have stayed out on the water for hours and hours if we’d have let her. Steve looked at me over the top of his sunglasses and said, “I guess a surfboard purchase is in our future.” I’m thinking he’s probably right.