What You Get For Living In Paradise

Hmph. Where do I start? Self-pity and loathing or the moral of the story? Let's start with the facts.

Today was a day that will live in infamy...at least for me. I was repeatedly reminded how blessed I am to live in such a tropical paradise. I had the day off work with my husband and his dad, so we decided to make a Hawaiian day of it and do something fun!

6 a.m.- Wake up with my crazy-surfer-dude-husband, eat some mini-wheats, trot on down to the beach to snap some pictures of him and his friends surfing while watching the sunrise. Come home, make a homemade Jamba Juice smoothie, and edit photographs. What could be better?

Early Afternoon- It just so happened that the Pipe Masters Competition was beginning today on North Shore- something I have ALWAYS wanted to see! We decided that this was something we did NOT want to miss, so we hightailed our hineys up to Pipeline to see some epic waves and great surfing action. It was pretty amazing actually- hundreds of people, some from all over the world, and live announcers just like in the movies. It was some good, clean, Hawaiian fun. Did I mention I was a super domesticated wife and even brought sandwiches and cheetohs to share? I was feeling pretty proud of myself.

Late Afternoon- Surfing competition ends, people start heading into Haleiwa for some eats, so we decide to cool it for a while. We spread out our blanket and lay under the perfect Hawaiian sun, feeling that timeless afternoon glow sink into our skins. Our beach chairs and bags were laying a mere 10 feet in front of us. I was half asleep and feeling like perfection. It was literally paradise.

Until.

I hear a blood-curdling scream and I feel Pete jumping up from the blanket. I see this huge wall of water coming toward us- but between us and this wall of water is none other than my beach bag- which contains my $700 professional camera, a $200powershot camera, and our cellphones. I see everything in slow motion as it unfolds- Pete racing and stumbling toward the bag, his dad looking on in horror- and I feel myself coming apart at the edges as I see my bag and camera becoming engulfed in raging saltwater. Pete lifts the camera as high as he can above the water but the damage had been done. I realized that the scream came from a lady to the side who was trying to warn us of this potential disaster. Pete was talking on the phone with his mom but completely dropped his phone at his feet in order to run toward the bag. My hero for sure. Me, though? I just stood there in shock, unable to move.

Let me just say that one quality I could really work on is how I react in these kinds of situations.

I'll skip the part where we do what we can to salvage my soaking wet camera, and try our best to dry off the other electronics. I'll skip the part where we walk to our car in silence and feel the weight of the whole situation on our shoulders. I'll even skip the drive home, as it was completely miserable for everyone. I would actually love to skip a few years ahead, where this is nothing but a funny story we tell our kids over dinner. Someday when Pete is a famous surfer and I'm his famous photographer, this story will be simply hilarious.

Man, I really wish that day would get here already. Because it's only been 5 hours and I'm thinking this isn't so funny. But at the same time, I do see the humor in it. (I have to step back REALLY far.) What better way to completely destroy your professional Canon Rebel than to have it get its insides washed out at one of the most renowned surfing competitions in the world?

Evening- As is my way, I fall asleep on the drive home from the North Shore. I have this crazy tendency that whenever conflict occurs, WHAM. I fall dead asleep. It's probably really irritating for my husband when I fall asleep during our arguments. :) OK, I'm working on it! Anyway, as evening approaches, and I'm snoring away in the backseat, dreaming of dry cameras and cellphones, Pete and his dad try to salvage what was a great day together. Pete's dad was a real trooper throughout everything- completely encouraging and light-hearted, yet super compassionate at the same time.

Night- We finally arrive home and after calling Canon to determine my options, Pete and I decided it was time for us to de-bug in the presence of our Christmas tree. Let's just face it- being underneath the lights of a Christmas tree makes everything better. So we popped open some bubbly (don't worry, mom, just sparkling grape juice) and started toasting to our grand day. We decided this was a much cooler story than ruining my camera while ropeswinging in a creek in southwest Missouri. Our kids will think we're much cooler this way. We even squeezed a laugh or two in there. We reminisced on how this was The Only Wave that came up that far the entire afternoon we were sitting there. It may not have meant much to the surfers, but to me, it was one killer wave.

We started talking about how, in the grand scheme of life, this really isn't a big deal. "Be still and know that I am God." After reflecting on that, I'm like, "Wow. This doesn't even matter." And what about, "Rejoice in the Lord always- again I say rejoice." Eeks. That's hard. "Give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances." Bah! Even harder! I do have an impossibly hard time thanking God for what happened today but I will make an effort to do it anyway. It's one thing to know in your mind that all this will pass away, but it's entirely different to truly know it in your heart.

I guess the moral of the story is I will Never, under any circumstances, forget the day we went to the Pipe Masters Competition. And neither will my camera.

Praise God that my SD cards weren't wiped clean! These are a few of my favorite images of the day. Try to enjoy, while realizing that they'll be the last my Canon ever takes!