This last Thursday was a surf day for the family. My brother and his family moved to San Diego so we went that direction. Stopped off in North SD and were pleasantly surprised as the reports were not very optimistic. Its been a long time for me so the small, semi-clean conditions were good for a paddle out. I did end up re-aggravating my shoulder that I sprained several years ago. Goes to show I need to get it in the water more to keep loose. Needless to say it felt great to be in the water, and beyond that, there's something even more satisfying now that my family is here with me.
Before Laura and I had Levi around, I almost invariably surfed alone. I'd go at dawn before work, or I'd spend the working day at San Onofre on my days off, leaving around noon to meet Laura at her work for lunch. Now, I don't get out so much, though I would love to get out early in the morning. Now that we live close enough to the beach I can get up for a dawn patrol, then come home for a morning with the family before work, yet I haven't taken advantage of that yet. Work is taking up to much of my time lately, its hard to justify any free time spent away form my family. 60+ hour work weeks can be harmful to a young family so I try to commit every second available to spending time with the family. Hopefully in the near future work will allow me fewer hours and I'll be able to get out in the water more.
Now, there is a trade-off, those serious surfers, climbers, skiers, bikers etc, know that participating in our chosen lifestyle (I don't call them "sports", and they're not mere hobbies for most) when we don't get that psychological, emotional, and physical re-fuel of getting out there regularly, our mental state tends to suffer. Using myself for example, when I'm out in the water on a regular basis, I'm more even-tempered, I feel better physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Its our personal recharge, a way to clear out all the mental garbage we accumulate in the modern world we live in.
I've discovered though, that as I focus on appreciating the incredible family I've been blessed with, my being in the water, or going snowboarding (that used to be my main passion for years) doesn't take precedence as my family trumps everything. Now, its important to have time to yourself, and believe me, if I had time, I'd be in the water ever single day there were waves! The point is is that in this spot I'm in I'm not willing to to sacrifice my family time for anything. I have a beautiful wife and awesome son that I don't spend nearly enough time with, and whatever "sacrifice" I'm making by not being in the water as much is of little account in the bigger picture. Not only that, but the times I do get out to the beach with my family are absolutely more rewarding than just being by myself. There's nothing like kicking out of a wave and looking at the beach to see your wife and baby boy watching and waving.
