July 19, 2017
Baby-Surfing
Certainly you’ve heard of surfing. You know, the ancient art of riding a plank of wood on the waves? Then we created lighter, smoother, conventional surfboards so we didn’t get splinters in our feet or stomachs and we weren’t worn out after dragging our plank to the ocean.
What if we forget our surfboard? Or, in our case, we decided to go to the beach on the “spur of the moment” and happen to have bathing suits because it’s Florida and a bathing suit is standard wear. Then there is always your body! ”Body-surfing” is when you catch the wave like a dolphin, with just your body! You dive into the swell and the wave picks you up and carries you until it breaks, sometimes all the way to shore!
But have you ever heard of baby-surfing? That is when a baby with monkey-grab-on power rides mom when she’s body surfing. Lucas invented baby-surfing when we went to the beach. (I’m sure it’s been around as long as surfing, but for us, it was a new concept!)
The beach was gorgeous. It always is. The tide was coming in, almost high, and the waves were breaking in long, straight rows. Perfect! Before Lucas and I made it to the water, the girls were already body-surfing and their laughter sprinkled through the air like sunbeams reflecting off the water. Jaquline is obsessed with “getting tube” – her term for catching the wave before it breaks and riding through it as it closes. She is so light and fast that she can usually do this even with smaller waves.
Lucas clung to my back and shouted “surfing!”
He’s ridden the board with us before, but not body-surfed as he isn’t a fully independent swimmer yet. (He knows how to hold his breath, paddle and kick, and get upright, but not really swim yet – he is just two.)
But Lucas LOVES the ocean! Well, Mom and Daddy went surfing all the time while dating, and the board he rides on is Granddaddy’s, so he gets it naturally.
The waves weren’t rough. They were about a foot and a half, maybe two, but even Jillian (who is five) was body-surfing them. So we jumped in! We only had to go out about thirty feet to catch them. The water was refreshing and about waist deep to an adult. For Rebeccah it was waist deep, but for Kimberly and Jaquline it was eight-ball high (midway between waist & shoulders).
“Whoooo-eeeeeee!” Lucas hollered as we caught the first wave – about a 20-foot ride. I stood up and Rebeccah asks, “Lucas, did you like that?”
Lucas let go of my shoulders and yelled “AGAIN!!” His legs were still locked around my waist but he threw his head back into the next wave. As he popped out of the water he shook his spiky blonde hair and shouted, “AGAIN! SURFING AGAIN MOMMY!”
As an infant of 8 months, this beach baby started trips to the beach by racing into the surf, getting tossed back, and getting right back up and running out again! This is the way of Lucas, so much adventure in that tiny package!
Every time we caught a wave he whooped and hollered like a rodeo cowboy. Every time I stood up at the end of a ride, he hopped up and down while still clinging to me and yelled “AGAIN MOMMY!” or “SURFING!” Every time one of the girls caught a wave as we were trooping back out, he joined me in cheering them on.
Mom would say stuff like: “Yeah, Jillian!” ”Good job, Jaquline!” ”Grab it, Kimberly!” ”Nice! Rebeccah!”
Lucas would shout: “Wheeee!” ”Whoooo!” ”SURFING!” ”YEAH!” ”BECCA!” (Since we call my sister, “Aunt Becca,” he shortens Rebeccah’s name to “Becca” sometimes too.)
After about an hour or so, (No one in the ocean pays attention to time – they are having too much fun!) I felt Lucas falling asleep. ”Are you ready to go build sandcastles?” (Trying to get him to the beach, he loves building – and demolishing – sandcastles.)
“No, Mommy,” he’s clinging to me like a monkey still, his voice sleepy slow, “SURFING!”
End of the next ride, “Are you ready for food, Lucas?” (Food usually gets Lucas’ attention away from anything else.)
“No, Mommy! AGAIN!”
“Just one last ride, okay?” So one last ride, one last “Baby-Surfing” ride. This was the biggest of the day, we had to go quite a bit farther out to catch it (as the tide was turning, the waves were breaking farther out, but the water level still wasn’t any deeper), but what a thrill riding it back in! Rebeccah, Kimberly, and Jaquline joined in the last big wave – we rode it all the way in. (Of course, the girls ran right back out for “just one more.”) Lucas was asleep before we got to the van! Christina commented, “wow, Mom, Baby-Surfing wore Lucas right out.”
Perfect trust, perfect fun, perfect day! Thank you, Jesus, for the awesome rides!
Thanks for reading!
Talk at you later…
~Nancy Tart