Thank God their back

Rincon Magic-
http://surfline.com/video/video_player/video_player.cfm?id=2417&mv=ncl

-Everyone who has a b-day gets to pick the spot. So Christian's b july 11 is that same day that they flew to Chicago. He picked Rincon. Rincon is really a tough place to surf because its full of sharp rocks its a really tight (tourque) wave and its a right (which we are all goofy foot so thats backside to us), not to mention it is so stinking famous that people come from everywhere on the planet to surf it (usually in the winter when its big). Most fall and winter days there are over 200 people in seal suits waiting for a great white, or a wave whichever somes first. I saw this Bruce Brown (endless sumer) movie called "hollow days" from 1961 which highlighted a beautiful 15' great white (all 3 fins out of the water) and about 10 surfers scrambling for shore- NEAT!

So the 11th was not so bad it was about knee-waist high, 4 people 9:00am 68degree water (warmer than normal), Christian, Connor, Cameron and me all paddled out to the grinder. Cam got scared right away and went back in (probably a good idea). Christian and Connor barreled out there excited as I've ever seen them. They both got grinded a couple times before they caught some long rides. Stoked! I on the other hand had a hard time figuring out the wave rode a few but got cuts everywhere and decided that I was bleeding enough to smell like a giant plate of grilled steak to a shark and paddled in.

Funny thing was, when we left, we went to our beach la conchita, and it was absolutely gorgeous, emerald/topaz color, pure glass, chest to head high occasional sets. We surfed until the very last minute and left for the airport just as the waves began to die down, stoked.

Moving on... I spent the last 3 weeks in a disconnected state of mind a nagging feeling of separation. Funny how mundane life can be when your family is not around. You might think that I would welcome the quiet. The truth is, its alright for about 15 minutes. Then, silence becomes a curse and being alone is torture. Nothing helps, going out, coming in, surfing, beer, eating bacon every single day, work or friends. The connections are broken, something is not right. The relationship is not there. I assume this is the mourning that goes on when kids leave the nest (of course you must remember what the first 3 letters of assume are so forgive me if I am off base). Still, the background is blurred and the day seems empty.

It really reminds me of how Adam must have felt when the reality of living without God set in. I suspect it was 100 times worse of course. But then I start to wonder how God felt. I mean, I know He had some sort of heads up and all except He had to do the punishing. He had to stick with it. He had to lock the door. I keep this phrase around "Oh, that I would be thier God and they would be my poeple." It is repeated in the old testament over and over and is a main theme throughout. The feeling of disconnect and distance and things lost; a soul-deep longing for relationship comes through loud and clear.

We tend to forget after a while. We fill that Adam/God need with other things, you know the things. We all get bored, sick, tired, depressed, frustrated etc... those things never go away they are part of life on the earth they are human. Yet we fill each of our frustrations and failures with people knowlege.

I can tell you or witness for you that when my boys got off thier plane I cried. Because, part of me was coming home. My boys were back in my presence. Later Stephanie and Calvin came in and I was whole again. It is such a testament to fulfillment and I sense that God feels the same way about you. I'm glad that my boys and my lovely wife got to see friends and family and I appreciate the lesson, but I will never like it.