Endless Session, Day 199: The toughest obstacle

I almost gave up.

Arm in a sling, wondering what the hell I was doing at the beach, crying out of frustration and because the independent woman in me who hates asking for help had to text a few friends and family to see if they could assist me in the ocean, and they all were at work or unavailable… I almost gave up.

I made one last text.  A text to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while — I didn’t think he’d answer.  He called back a minute later,  and at that very moment was riding his bike less than half a block from where I was sitting — at Veteran’s Park in Redondo Beach.

Tom raced back to my car, carried my board down to the beach, and sat on the sand, watching as I did my duty.  It was hard for me to get a wetsuit on, and I didn’t want to strain my shoulder further, so I went sans suit (well still bathing suit), into the 58 degree water, taking my breath away as I entered, getting more and more used to one-armed paddling.

I made it, barely, and it really rocked me.  I sat crying in my car for a long time before I reached out to Tom, and he quite literally came to the rescue.  This mission of mine — it is deeper than catching three or more waves a day.  I lost the ocean for a long time, and surfing recently came back into my life — and changed everything.  I made a commitment that I would surf for a year, not simply for a streak, but for many reasons including showing myself that I could persevere through obstacles and come out as a better, stronger person.

This particular obstacle has been quite challenging, but I’m hoping that day by day it gets better.  Oh, and I’m going to Nicaragua in two days :/.  This might be a take-it-easy surf trip instead of a surf-your-brains-out trip like I planned.

All’s well that ends well.