I didn’t start boogie boarding until my mid-60s. I think having grandchildren visit was what got me to try it, but after a few rides on good breakers I no longer needed the kids as an excuse. Now I’m a great grandmother and I’m as good at it as they are.
I also embarrass them by letting out a yell as I ride all the way in to shore.
My “rebel yell” started spontaneously. I simply couldn’t keep myself from vocalizing my delight even if it attracted the attention of waders, and if an onlooker happened to comment I would tell them it was such a thrill to be able to do this at 71 that keeping quiet wasn’t an option.
I wouldn’t go into my history, how as a only child, labeled as clumsy, I shied away from sports and didn’t have siblings to help me learn how to play schoolyard games, like dodge ball. Or how I’d spent summers amusing myself in the water alone, making up water ballets inspired by Esther Williams movies.
In grade school I dreaded gym class. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to hit, catch or throw a ball because my father’s efforts to teach me these things had always ended with him yelling at me. Like a scarlet letter, I was marked with a self-fulfilling prophesy of athletic inadequacy, always the last to be picked for any team. In high school, I envied the girls who could drive a field hockey puck or dribble a basketball.
I married a man superior to me in athletic abilities and was sure any and all physical attributes our children inherited would come exclusively from him. After four kids in quick succession, I had neither the time, the energy nor the the interest for physical fitness. My only exercise came from carrying groceries and vacuuming rugs.
After my divorce, I might have benefited from being more physically active, but I didn’t discover the miraculous release of even a brisk walk until some years later when I found out I had osteoporosis. The diagnosis came at the same time I was actively engaged in therapy, 12-step recovery and membership in a church community—all important steps in redirecting my life to a healthier course but still only about seeking well being from the neck up!
To combat my osteoporosis, I started taking daily walks, and after I moved to Cape Cod I added bike rides and eventually turned to strength training to reduce the risk of thinning bones without medication.
But medical reasons aside, if I had to work out 6 days a week all year long just to be able to boogie board for another summer, it would be worth it.
One evening only my husband and I and a couple in the early 30s were out on the Coast Guard Beach sand bar. It was a few hours past low tide and the surf was stronger than it looked from the shore. The other woman and I were catching the breakers rolling in on the flats while the men were going out further in search of higher waves.
Walking back out after a bucking bronco of a wave had left us both giddy, we observed that we were getting better rides that our spouses. We decided that chasing the big one must be a guy thing and that this activity was the most fun thing in the world to be doing on a late summer afternoon.
For just a second, a deep sadness washed over me as I looked at her wet, beautiful young face. She would have thirty-plus more years of boogie boarding while my hope was for just one more season.
On the next ride in, my celebration-of-life yell was even louder than usual. The only thing that matters, I thought, is that I’m doing it now.
Inspired and spunky!
I hope you have more seasons than you expect.
Thank you, kj, I hope for many more seasons. I just take them on at a time!
Ha.. Ha.. Love this post. But you failed to mention how cold the North Atlantic is even in the summer, which makes the whole experience even more invigorating, and in my opinion you even a bit braver. What I like best is the last sentence – you’re doing it now. Being in the present moment really makes everything more special.
The water temperature was 57 degrees the day the photo was shot! Thank you for commenting. Hope you’ll pass along to column to aging women who would like to experience great fun and numb toes.
Oh Bev, I LOVE this!!! And the photo of you is smashing. We’ve never talked about it, but I am a fellow boogie boarder. Indeed. Isn’t it the most invigorating and fabulously fun thing to do? Boogie on, my friend. You have many waves ahead of you.
Same to you! Let’s talk Boogie Boarding when we see each other again.
I still reflect on our brief interaction with the Seashores a decade or so ago in Cape Cod fondly, Beverly, and enjoy reading your periodic newsletters. This one struck home with me, and I am celebrating your love of the life you have from afar! The season isn’t over just yet, and next summer will be here sooner than you think — embrace the waves!
Thank you so much for your affirming comment, John…and for bringing Charlie and Edie to heart and mind. I miss them and know they’d delight in the people who knew them staying connected.
Great story Bev! Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for life! When do we go? Surf’s up!
Thank you for commenting. See you at low tide at Coast Guard Beach.
Bev, I love that you are following through with your desires to do different things! I’ve been taking every opportunity lately to experience new adventures!!! Every day counts these days!!!?
It’s such a blessing to experience the full range of life.
Beverly, I can closely identify with the awkward feelings toward athletics as a teen. I did finally reach my peak of physical fitness at 30, but now also with osteoporosis, I feel such a decline in my fitness level. You have inspired me….even before the bogie board, and with it, I feel I can be strong again! Thank you for always shinning your light!!!
In one of the books I read when I was first diagnosed with osteoporosis, women in their 80’s in a nursing home were taught strength training exercises and they experienced fewer falls as well as better health and well being. Although I didn’t start working out until my scans worsened the message that it’s never too late, helps me to keep at it now
HI Beverly, I just loved the picture (mental and literal) of you riding the waves. That piece brought such joy. Thanks for sharing! May you keep on boogy-ing for years to come.