Back in the saddle

We're up at the beach house on the North Shore. It's huge and across the street from a wave called Chun's Reef. The beach is wide and has big areas shaded by trees, so it's great for sitting with the kids.

And it's got killer waves.

I haven't surfed since February of 2005, when Jason and I were in Hawaii so I could take the bar exam. By the time we got here last year, I was already pregnant, and since Zeke was born I've been either trying to get back into shape or too intimidated by the prospect of trying to shlep the baby down onto the beach. Plus, since it's been so long since I've surfed, I really wanted my first few times back out to be with Jason, and it was obviously impossible for us both to get out into the water and leave the baby to fend for himself.

So today Mindy and Chris and Jason and I took the monkeys to the beach, and Zeke fell asleep, so Jason decided it was time to get me out in the water. We got on our boards and started paddling out. At first my arms were tired, but then I got into the swing of it and we made our way into the lineup. The first two waves I tried to catch were busts. The first one I had, but I froze up and lost my muscle memory of how to pop-up. The second was big, and I had it, but I psyched myself out and jumped off because I was scared.

Jason could tell my head was getting in the way of catching a wave, so he told me to follow him to a particular point, made me turn around, said, "start paddling" and pushed me into the wave. And all of a sudden I remembered what to do. I pushed with both hands, pulled up my knees and suddenly I was standing on the board, riding the wave. It was a nice, smooth wave, and I even managed to make a couple turns and walk the board a little bit. When the wave petered out, I raised my arms in the air, yelled "woohoo!" and jumped off.

Holy crap, it was so much fun. I can't believe it's been three years, and I can't wait to get out there again. I know I've been kind of bitching and moaning about Hawaii lately, but all of a sudden the prospect of being able to strap my board to the roof of my car and head down to the beach to catch a couple of waves during lunchtime is incredibly appealing. What an awesome way to break up the work day.