I’ve always have been really sporty. Aside from my mermaidness, I played soccer, took boys out hehe(: playing dodge ball in elementary school, and could throw a decent softball. I now love playing tennis and am just figuring out volleyball! But football is a different story.I could never really figure out how to throw a football properly. I find the odd shape intimidating, a very tricky challenge. Not a big deal at all, i just leave footballs where they are.
Thanks to an an organization called Dream Factory I got to take three rad kids surfing! Dream factory is the 2nd largest “wish” granting organization in america.
A young girl named Emily who had endured some hard stuff in her life but I had no clue what had happened to her until I met her. Emily had a sweet spirit, tender heart and she really wanted to learn to surf!. She also had extensive burn scars all over her body with her fingers stumped making it hard to grab hold of things. I also had Zoe and Colt two grommets who have cystic fibrosis, they where adorable and have so much to endure at their young age.
With the help of my surf coach Russell Lewis all three enthusiastic kids got surf lessons for the first time! I had confidence Emily could learn to surf even though I’m not sure she did. And I knew Zoe and Colt would catch on just fine! It was a ton of fun to see all of them get up and surf at the beach where I learned to surf. They all did great and I was really proud of their enthusiasm to go for it wave after wave!
What really stuck out to me through out the entire day was what happened after surfing. We were all enjoying a BBQ lunch on the beach. As some of the Dream factory guys where throwing a football around, I was kinda watching trying to figure out how they throw the football with that cool spin on it. In surfing, technique is really important, I’m sure its the same with throwing a football. I was too shy to just ask them to show me how to throw it and just remained sitting. Soon enough, Emily got up and joined in throwing the ball with the boys. It certainly was not easy for her but she went for it anyway. I thought that was awesome! So simple, yet complex and beautiful in my mind!
Watching Emily, Zoe and Colt taking on new challenges that many of us take for granted reminds me to be thankful for what I have and to take on new challenges!
I ended up throwing the ball around, not quite with that fancy spin on it but I gave it my best shot…
Thanks Emily, Zoe and Colt for being so courageous!
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