El Niño. He’s wrecked havoc worldwide. Coastal properties are ready to tip into the blue abyss at the hands of erosion, entire beaches are gone, and my bank statement completely unrecognizable with all those gasoline expenses.
But most of all our relationships are different; and I’m not simply discussing our personal relations with significant others. I’m talking about friendships we didn’t have time for, the ones that we selfishly put on the back burner to pursue our guilty pleasure. I’m taking about all the instances when I didn’t call my mom for weeks at a time due to pumping waves and lack of cell reception. Most importantly, I think anyone who truly values themselves as a surfer would agree that the biggest shift in relationships was that which we have with the sea, because to some she was a cruel mistress this winter (myself included) by way of fracturing legs, obliterating quivers, and rupturing vertebral discs. Meanwhile, to others she is now the sweetest siren; the newcomer who escaped from her first tube, the grom who rode the biggest wave of his life, and the hardcore adventurer who finally watched that spot light up that they had spent eight years waiting for. Regardless of which category you fall under (and chances are it’s a little bit of both), recognize that the next season is soon to be upon us and how we transition through this next little bit is sure to set the tone till the South swells cease. So go to that birthday dinner, bring your chick some flowers, pick up that piece of trash floating in the lineup. Or don’t. Just surf all day and see what happens. At the very least go call your mom, she probably wants to hear your voice.
