Honoring Surf Moms and All Moms

"There are Surf Moms, and then there are 'Surfer' Moms,"
I said to my friend earlier this week. He looked at me with a perplexed look on his face and asked. "What's the difference?"

"Glad you asked," I answered, and I proceeded to tell him as I will do now for you. The difference between a Surf Mom and a Surfer Mom is: A Surf Mom is a mother who does not surf per se, but rather hauls her surfer kids and their surfer friends off to the beaches, feeds them all, plays nurse to some, drives everyone home etc etc. She loves surfing, and she loves to watch her kids surf. But she is not herself, a surfer.

She spends all summer at the beach. She may haul the kids off
to surf contests up and down the coast. She may have kids who surf in all seasons, or three out of four seasons. So she is dealing with stanky wetsuits. Not too mention the dirty bathrooms, sandy towels, clogged sinuses, and ear canals.

She deals with the never-ending appetite that surfers seem to have. The early morning dawn patrols before school. And yes the occasional skipping classes. There's the after school late afternoon sessions, that go into the evenings and ultimately miss dinner. The dinner that she has prepared. It's a never ending cycle of having to juggle so much, if their kids surf.

Most surf Moms I know are saints. They are the best of the best.

I started the annual Surf Family Robinson Beach Party some 20 years ago now because I wanted to have at least one day where the Surf Moms could relax. But even there, they are still mothers, and mothers are constantly aware of what their kids are doing. My intentions were good, and for the most part, there is a slight reprise from the day to day beach activity that most surf moms have to deal with.

The Surfer Mom is like us. She's a surfer. She wants to surf.

In short she wants what we all want. To be able to go surfing.  And I think the Surfer Mom faces a bigger dilemma, than say the Surfer dad. The stereotype "Mom" comes into play here. She is still dealing with a mind set that Moms are supposed to do things that moms are supposed to do, and to act a certain way. And going surfing is not one of them. Oh hell no.

Things certainly have changed since I started surfing.

I don't recall any women period who were surfing back in the old days. Really from the late 60's to the early 80's. There were very few women who surfed. And there were certainly NO surfer Moms. That was unheard of. There were plenty of surf moms though. Heck all the original surf moms at the first Surf family Robinson, come to mind.

Karen Evans, Kim Grondin, Sofia Haffenreffer, Kaki Gould, and my wife Cory. All surf moms. All committed to the surf lifestyle. Yet none of them surfed. I was thinking this morning about my own late mother. She was in a sense a surf mom. Not like the surf moms of today, but she was none the less a surf Mom.
She dropped us off at the beach. Made us lunches. Picked us up. Drove my friends home. Never ever complained.

And before that, we used to walk to the beach from our home. And our home was at least two miles from the ocean. Can you imagine doing that today? Walking over 1 mile to beach hauling everything you needed? Your kids would look at you like you had two heads. I can recall some of those hot summer days marching off to the beach with my mother leading the way.

It was like the Battan Death March. And the walk back? Well that was worse. Way worse.

Still what I wouldn't give to relive one of those days again. A day at the beach with my mom and her home made sandwiches, with all kinds of fruit and drinks. Damn the sunburns, it was worth it.

Only to get home and fall asleep, with the sights, sounds, and smells of the ocean ringing in your head. Any of us who grew up on the beach are pretty lucky to have those memories. So to all the Moms who have gone off to heaven, we remember you, and miss you, and will always love you.

Rest In Peace Mothers of Surfers.

Now about those Surfer Moms. I am so impressed with the Moms who surf. I mean I just think it's the coolest damn thing to see a mom paddle out into the line-up and not only surf, but charge it out there.

And clearly there is a growing number of surfer moms out there. It has gotten to the point where it's not that much of a novelty anymore. Seeing Moms out surfing is as common as seeing dads out there. Well maybe not that common but it's getting there. And with more and more women surfing each year, there is a good chance that these future Moms are going to continue to surf. And really why would they not?

I don't know many Surfer dads who gave up surfing once they became fathers. Ha. If anything they wanted to surf even more. I would imagine it would be the same for Moms. I see the local surfer moms all the time.

Erica Nardone is one who is always on each swell. When the kids are in school, or day care, or it's husband's Matt turn to watch them, she is out charging. But then again, Matt is a surfer. I would imagine there are days when they both want to surf. But I guess they could face bigger problems than that.

There's others as well. I can't name them all, but I know of the ones I see on a regular basis. Heather Day, Heather O'Hara, Ginger Nelson, Jill Caisey, Noreen, Teresa Paugh Quinn, Natasha Rafferty, and a bunch more...like I said I can't name you all. But I will blanket the whole scene by saying to you all.
And I mean ALL Surf Moms and Surfer Moms. Happy Mothers Day. We all appreciate what you have done as Mothers.

This day was and is for you. We LOVE YOU ALL!

And Moms can I just say this? The swell this week? This Mother's Day Swell? Oh My God! That was something special. And it's the reason why I'm so late with the blog. I not only shot a million photos but I also went surfing. And please forgive me for saying this, but I caught some waves on Friday morning May 11th, 2012 at the Wall that will stay with me for a very long time. I mean a long time.

I managed to get three legitimate barrels that were...oh God PLEASE forgive me for saying this, so hollow, that it reminded me of...oh you know. PIPELINE! They were only about 6 feet. But they were so freaking hollow. I caught one left that I managed to angle directly into this big bowl, I went to grab my rail, and then stopped myself. I was in a slight crouch, and saw the lip arc over me and just engulf me. I stood there thinking that I was going to get so worked, when I saw that it was going to let me out. That wave never touched me. I was completely inside the bowl and it never touched me.

I saw the bowl wrap and the lip line taper off and knew it was going to let me out. I was going so fast in that wave, that when I kicked out, I glided across the flat surface for another 10 to 15 yards and then just stood there. Standing on my board, the offshore spray hitting me and showering me. There was a round rainbow prism that appeared.

No one saw it. No one photographed it. It was just me. Standing on my board.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

So thank you mothers. Thank you for the Mother of all spring swells and I mean that in a good way. After all, they don't call the ocean "Mother Ocean" for nothing now do they.

Happy Mother's Day to All the Moms all over the Globe!

Now for some of my Weekly Global Observances:

So the Same Sex marriage topic is once again out of the closet this week, thanks to Joe Big Mouth Biden. Joe's letting the cat out the bag per se, has forced the President to come out and support Gay marriage. Now, regardless of how you might feel about same sex marriage, you have to think, that Obama must really regret having Joe as his number two guy. I mean it must be insane having Joe bumbling his way around the White House.

You just never know what he's going to say. I personally find it amusing.

I get a kick out of his frank and mindless comments. In fact, I look forward to them. What is it with VEEP's any ways? Damn.

Kalid Sheik Mohummed (KSM) the Mastermind behind 9/11 and his merry pranksters have been making a mockery of the trial at GITMO. The judge needs to get a grip on these fools. We can't let them act like childish buffoons on our dime. They need to take control of these proceedings and they need to do it now, rather than later.

Speaking of Proceedings, the John Edwards trial has been gaining some exposure as of late. That haircut of his has always bothered me. Seeing his smug look as he walks in and out of that courtroom, is at least, some kind of poetic justice.

Congrats to the Boston Celtics as they advance in the NBA play-offs. KG had a remarkable game and they look great and poised to continue.

I know a lot of Pats fans were saddened by the news of Matt Light's retirement. I'm sure Tom Brady is the one who will feel it the most. He had Tom's back for a long time. Matt played with such heart and courage for many years and helped New England win three Superbowls. Good luck Matt wherever you end up in your retirement, we will never forget what you did for all of us here in New England.