Hug your loved ones today and tell them you love them while they are is still on this earth. Life can suddenly change that, you just never know.
I'll never forget the day I asked my dad to teach me how to surf. I was 13, the same age my daughter is now and it had been over 20 years since he had been on a surf board. I used his original board from the 60's with the only instruction to "pull up on the board to go faster and pull back to go slower"... so essentially I ended up teaching myself lol! He was an old school hippie still only wearing cut off jean shorts as a swim suit. I persevered getting beat up a lot along the way until one day I could stand up. I surfed on that board whenever my mom would take my land locked self to the beach on the weekends.
The board in this picture was the "new" board he bought after he moved to florida. I drove there when he passed away when I was 21 and brought those boards home. It was like my best friend that connected me until it cracked in half on a big wave this fall. I think of him often every time I go out to surf at Assateague National Park. The place where I paddled out to spread some of his ashes. The place I have so many happy memories of our family camping trips growing up. I have so much gratitude to have the opportunity to live in my paradise and raise my daughter here. I will never take it for granted. This is not a sad post, I am grateful for each day that I have, living happy and carefree.