I never could’ve imagined doing water-sports back when I was six years old; let alone paddle boarding or surfing. I grew up inland, though I was never a land-lubber. But as I stood watching my daughter stand with ease on a paddle board this past Saturday, balancing upon Mother Ocean, I couldn’t have been more proud of her natural abilities.
Looking back to my own childhood, I realize now that I wasn’t quite the athletic type. I didn’t even learn to ride a bicycle until I was 10 years old! But once I did — feeling the wind blow through my hair…free as the breeze — I was hooked. And to this day, I still love riding my bike more than most things I’ve ever done.
As for my young daughter, I can hardly wait to see her gliding on top of the water. And soon after she’s paddle boarding, I hope we can introduce her to the art of surfing. Being island transplants — known as IBC’s (Islanders By Choice) — to our Gulf Coastal home, I feel our little-one will grow up knowing what it really means to blend with nature. And I too, will come to know Mother Ocean’s embrace like I was never able to when I was a child. Just as we are never too young to try new and daring things, neither are we ever too old.
*Live the Life You Love* #NeverTooYoungToPaddleBoard #NeverTooOldToPaddleBoard #LearningNewThings #EveryDayAdventures #PaddleBoarding
We moved to the island last year…on a wing and a prayer; hoping we could make it work, blind to the struggles we would face. Because of many financial hardships and our rather modest (to put it nicely) means, we’ve learned to become quite creative with how we entertain our toddler. Free family fun is the norm for us; a very simplistic way of island life. It has made us better people and parents…all-the-more.
Now, with the holidays behind us, we have welcomed our first new year as full-time Islanders. And because we love the ocean and the beach so…we felt compelled to go shelling at one of our favorite family-friendly spots along the coast. This particular stretch of Galveston Beach is a place we have come-to-call ‘Nixi’s Pirate Play Park’. In our opinion, and Baby’s, it is the best little park on the island! We highly recommend it to any visitor or local.
The first day of this new year might’ve been a bit dreary, but we didn’t mind! To us, it was a mystical and adventurous family outing of treasure hunting and shelling along the big seashore: so many discoveries we made that day! It was a time–a memory–of new beginnings and priceless moments that we pray 2014 will bring even more of…to our little tribe.
Blessings & .V.. to you and yours in this New Year…and always!
Forty Something Parents 