surf's up!

this past summer we took a family trip to southern california.  usually, while on vacay the hubs and i each take a turn doing something personally relaxing and allowing the other to have a kids free break.  over the years the activities of choice have become somewhat predictable.  i choose a massage and scott chooses golf.  and we both are pretty happy at the end of the day.

this is sort of what happens in marriage.  you get used to the rhythms and over time are able to predict each other's choices and behavior patterns.

this year, upon our arrival to our vacation spot, i asked scott if he had decided on a day and location for his golf outing.

his reply:  i don't think i am going to golf this year.

errrrrk.  i had to do a mental slam on the brakes and back up a minute.

what's that you say?  not golfing?  well.  oh.

what ARE you going to do, then?

his reply:  i think i'm going to go surfing.

oh.  did you say surfing?  hmm.  ok.

and then as i wrapped my head around the idea of my husband surfing i began to fall in love with my hubs all over again.  i mean, that's pretty hot.  this blog is for the girls to read one day.  so i'll just leave it at that.

a few days later scott went off for his surfing lesson.  he loved it!  however, the dude that gave him the lesson said that it wasn't really a good wave day.  he felt bad (scott did not).  and so he offered scott a make up class the next day.

when he told the girls about his surfing adventure e's eyes lit up like the 4th of july.  she was fascinated with this idea of her dad out riding waves.  she wanted in.

scott, being the amazing dad that he is, decided to take her along.  and so the next day the family took off for the beach.  p, d and i played in the sand while daddy and e surfed the waves.  i was in awe.  they both just went out there and learned the art of hopping on their boards at just the right moment to catch a wave.  i was one proud momma and one very enamored wife.

a few weeks ago scott had a business trip in chicago.  when he arrived home i asked him how his flight was.  his reply:  good.  i read a book.

my husband isn't what i would could an avid reader.  he reads books, for sure, but he is particular about what he reads.  if he is going to pick up a book and read it, he has usually researched said book.  i didn't recall him speaking of any books as of late, so i was curious.

me:  what did you read?

him:  a book i saw in the airport.

me:  oh.

e burst into the kitchen at that moment and asked me if i had spoken to scott about her having a sleepover.  we had talked about it earlier and i had told her that i needed to confirm with him before committing.

i told her i hadn't yet had a chance.  and so she turned to him and asked him herself.

his reply:  sure.

my immediate thought was, "who is this man and what have you done with my husband?"  i gave him the raised eyebrow questioning look.

his reply:  it was in the book.  it said that dads should say "yes" to their daughters more often.

and then we went on about our evening.  and life swept us up and we never came back to the discussion of the book.

that was a few weeks ago.

this weekend i asked scott what he might like to do.  he declared that saturday night was going to be family movie night.

alrighty then.

me:  do you want me to pick up a red box or should we just rent one from on-demand?

him:  i've got the movie.  i ordered it from ebay a few weeks ago.

huh?

and so after dinner we sat down to watch the movie.  the title is soul surfer.  it's about a girl who loves to surf.  she is pretty hot stuff and making her way up the competitive surfing ladder as a young teenager.

and then she is in an accident.  while surfing with her family she is attacked by a shark.  but she isn't knocked down.  almost immediately after the accident (where she looses an arm) she gets back on the board.

and to make things easier for her, her dad engineers a handle in the middle of her board so that she can find her balance to get on the board.

the girl's name is bethany hamilton.  you might have heard of her.  she is sort of a big deal in the surfing world and is rocking out 1st and 2nd place titles in the pro surfing arena to this day.  with one arm.  because her dad saw that she was struggling and stepped in to help her when she needed him.

me:  hey babe, where did you find this movie?

him:  it's in the book.

me:  the book?

him:  yeah, the book i read on the plane, about daughters and dads.

me:  wow.

( i have since gone in search of the book.  sure enough, chapter 31 is all about dads helping their daughter.  it suggests that dads should know what their daughter is struggling with at any given time and be waiting in the wings to step in and help.  just not right away... because they might figure it out for themselves.  but if they can't- then dad should step in.)

 about half of the way through our movie watching we took an intermission and made jiffy pop.  they loved everything about this night.  the popcorn.  the movie.  staying up late.  oh...  and their dad who they knew was behind the whole thing.  my kids have been talking about sharks and surfing for the past few days.  they've also been practicing life with one arm.

and the coolest part?

they aren't doing this with fear.  they are doing it with confidence because scott reinforced the amazing ability that we have to overcome obstacles.

and as for me?  i've been looking at my husband with this quizzical look and asking myself, "how in the world did i get so lucky?  how did i get THIS guy as the father of my girls?"

if you have daughters, you just might want to find a way to get their daddy to read this little number.  apparently, it has had a pretty lasting impression on one dad that i know.  smile.