Once I felt the sand between my toes, I knew that it was going to be a gorgeous morning for dawn patrol. I put down my seven-foot funboard, letting the fins sink into the tan grains. The ocean glittered as the sun’s early rays danced on its surface. The sand was cool, but I knew that the ocean, still warm from yesterday’s sticky heat, was beckoning for me to enjoy in its waves.
The beach was bare, save for a fisherman and another surfer out in the water. It was more space than I could handle, being used to the throngs of tourists that invaded the beach during the day. But right now, instead of dodging beach umbrellas and sunbathers and sandy food laid out on blankets, I could run in a straight line, straight into the ocean, and enjoy what I could before the lifeguards set up their stands and booted me into the little break saved just for surfers like me. I smiled.
Then I broke into a run. Water splashed against my ankles as I hit the shoreline. I jumped onto my board and paddled out. And so, my day began.