You knew I was going to do a post about surfing this month, didn’t you?

Surfing, of course was not only invented in Hawaii, it’s Hawaii’s signature sport.

Even so, you’d be surprised how many people here have never even been on a surfboard, much less take it up as a hobby.

That doesn’t apply to our family, however. We’re what you’d call a multi-generational surfing family.

Last week when I said that hanging out on the beach is the best stress reliever there is, I was talking about myself. My husband, his dad, and our boy would argue that case for surfing.

All three of them began surfing at a young age, which is how most surfers get their start. As soon as you can swim — and sometimes before, if your dad puts you on his board with him — you get out on your board in the little shorebreak surf. What we call ankle snappers.

Eventually you gain more skills and graduate to bigger and more challenging waves. But real surfers will tell you: it’s not about how big the wave is, and they’re right. You can have fun in any size waves.

It’s not real hard to learn, but it might take years to get really good at it. I picked it up when I was around 14 or so, but I’ve never gotten better than so-so at it.

Still, the ones who surf for fun (that is to say, most surfers) would argue that that’s not the point. What it’s really about is being out in the ocean — some would say one with the ocean — enjoying the beauty of God’s creation while playing on the waves. It can be — and often is — therapeutic and exhilarating at the same time.

This is the fifteenth post in my series, 31 Days of Life in my Hawaii. Click here to get the links to the other posts in the series.