Touching the water for the first time 
He’s not sure about it… 
Nope! It’s too cold!!
The weather warmed up a few weeks ago and Summer and Madison (Mason’s brother and sister-in-law) invited us to join them at the beach. We didn’t really have many beach supplies, let alone baby beach supplies, but we grabbed everything we did have and headed down to the water!
Growing up, my family lived about an hour away from the beach, but that never stopped us. Any day we could talk our parents into driving us down here, we would go. My dad grew up surfing and has surfed for most of his adult life, so getting us in the water at a young age was important to him; it instilled a love of the ocean in us, just as I’m sure he hoped it would.
I was twelve when my dad gave me my first surfboard. It was an Infinity fun-shape board that already had a lot of love on it. I distinctly remember him telling me, “If you can paddle out, you can surf with us.” That was quite a defining moment in my little pre-teen life. Back then, “us” was a crowd made up of my dad and my brother, but it was still pretty cool and I wanted more than anything to prove myself. That morning, I made it out past the white-wash on my own and my dad proceeded to give me my first surf.
My love of the ocean and surfing only grew from there, and when my brother and I got our licenses to drive, it was all over. We lived in Rancho Cucamonga (also known as Rancho Cowabonga) and the morning traffic is always horrendous. We used to wake up at 5am, load up the car with as many people and surfboards as would fit, hit the gas station for some doughnuts and energy drinks and then head down the 5 freeway. We typically got down to San Onofre before the sun rose, but as soon as the sun showed its face, we were paddling out. We’d surf until we were tired (or hungry, whichever came first) and then we would pack up and drive home. The next day, we’d do it all over again. That was the summer of 2005; my favorite summer that I can ever remember. Oh, the good ol days.
Now, the story of when I met my husband while surfing is a whole different story, but the fact that I met my husband surfing points to the fact that the ocean has continued to play not only a part in my life, but also in my husband’s life and our married life. I had always hoped that one day, we would have little “groms” that would join us in the water and when I found out that we were going to have a boy, my head filled with visions of father-son surfing days. I asked Mason if he would teach our son how to surf and he got a big grin on his face just thinking about it.
Needless to say, taking Ford to the beach as a family for the first time was pretty special to us. I have been dreaming about this day for a very long time. As much as I want time to slow down, I can’t wait until he is old enough to get in that cold water and ride those scary waves; I can’t wait for that defining day when he paddles out by himself for the first time and his dad gives him his first surfing lesson.
All photos were taken by Madison Dyer and may not be used without permission.
Coast x Coast Motherhood 