Surfing...a woman in her 40s and a board.

I was born and lived in Hawaii for many years before I learned to surf. Seems like as with many island activities, I didn't bother to try surfing until I moved away. After years of avoiding that small part of the world, for reasons that I'm still uncertain of, I was terribly homesick. In the end, it was my longing to experience something with a strong association to the place I called home that drove me to try and learn to surf and become completely immersed.
I was fortunate that I got to tag along on business trips with my supportive hubbie each year to Maui, which is where I last lived. Over the course of a few years, I took some lessons, went out with some friends, and low and behold, I was surfing...not very well mind you, but well enough to become addicted. To my delight, I found it to be a miraculous experience.
First off, there's the unusually beautiful view of the island from the ocean, which is constant and yet differs in the particulars at every moment. Then there's the massaging surge and undulation of the water and waves beneath you, which you experience with all your senses. But perhaps most significant is the act of surfing itself. A seamless wave pushes your body forward as you rise and stand on top of the water with your hands in the air, riding to the shore. As my friend Becky so eloquently stated in her best televangelist accent 'It's lahk GEE-zus!'.You are one with mother nature and you can feel her infinite force. There are moments when you are paddling back out to the break and another surfer will ride right by you heading to shore. You can see and feel the synergy of their power and that of the wave. It's awe inspiring.
I've come to realize that the term 'surf bum' is a bit of an oxymoron. Surfing is a natural high so intense that it's difficult to resist the addiction. It's easy to see why for many people it becomes a priority in life to catch that perfect wave and ride that endless ride. Everything else, including a job, becomes 'filler' or a just a means to an ends.