"There are Surf Moms, and then there are "Surfer" Moms. "
I said to my friend earlier this week. He looked at me with a perplexed look on his face and asked. "What's the difference?"

"Glad you asked." I answered, and I proceeded to tell him as I will do now for you. The difference between a Surf Mom and a Surfer Mom is. A Surf Mom is a mother who does not surf per se, but rather hauls her surfer kids and their surfer friends off to the beaches, feeds them all, plays nurse to some, drives everyone home etc etc. She loves surfing, and she loves to watch her kids surf. But she is not herself, a surfer.

She spends all summer at the beach. She may haul the kids off
to surf contests up and down the coast. She may have kids who surf in all seasons, or three out of four seasons. So she is
dealing with stanky wetsuits. Not too mention the dirty bathrooms, sandy towels, clogged sinuses, and ear canals.

She deals with the never ending appetite that surfers seem to have. The early morning dawn patrols before school. And yes
the occasional skipping classes. There's the after school late afternoon sessions, that go into the evenings and ultimately
miss dinner. The dinner that she has prepared. It's a never ending cycle of having to juggle so much, if their kids surf.

Most surf Moms I know are saints. They are the best of the best.

I started the annual Surf family Robinson Beach Party some
20 years ago now because I wanted to have at least one day where the Surf Moms could relax. But even there, they are still mothers, and mothers are constantly aware of what their kids are doing. My intentions were good, and for the most part,
there is a slight reprise from the day to day beach activity
that most surf moms have to deal with.

The Surfer Mom is like us. She's a surfer. She wants to surf.

In short she wants what we all want. To be able to go surfing.
And I think the Surfer Mom faces a bigger dilemma, than say
the Surfer dad. The stereo type "Mom" comes into play here.
She is still dealing with a mind set that Moms are supposed to
do things that moms are supposed to do, and to act a certain way. And going surfing is not one of them. Oh hell no.

Things certainly have changed since I started surfing.

I don't recall any women period who were surfing back in the
old days. Really from the late 60's to the early 80's. There were very few women who surfed. And there were certainly NO surfer Moms. That was unheard of. There were plenty of surf moms though. Heck all the original surf moms at the first Surf family Robinson, come to mind.

Karen Evans, Kim Grondin, Sofia Haffenreffer, Kaki Gould, Arelene Nichols, and my wife Cory. All surf moms. All committed to the surf lifestyle. Yet none of them surfed. I was thinking this morning about my own late mother. She was in a sense a surf mom. Not like the surf moms of today, but she was none the less a surf Mom. She dropped us off at the beach. Made us lunches. Picked us up. Drove my friends home. Never ever complained.

And before that, we used to walk to the beach from our home. And our home was at least two miles from the ocean. Can you imagine doing that today? Walking over 1 mile to beach hauling everything you needed? Your kids would look at you like you
had two heads. I can recall some of those hot summer days marching off to the beach with my mother leading the way.

It was like the Battan Death March. And the walk back?
Well that was worse. Way worse.

Still what I wouldn't give to relive one of those days again. A
day at the beach with my mom and her home made sandwiches, with all kinds of fruit and drinks. Damn the sunburns, it was
worth it.

Only to get home and fall asleep, with the sights, sounds, and smells of the ocean ringing in your head. Any of us who grew up on the beach are pretty lucky to have those memories. So to all the Moms who have gone off to heaven, we remember you, and miss you, and will always love you.

Rest In Peace Mothers of Surfers.

Now about those Surfer Moms. I am so impressed with the Moms who surf. I mean I just think it's the coolest damn thing to see a mom paddle out into the line-up and not only surf, but charge it out there.

And clearly there is a growing number of surfer moms out there. It has gotten to the point where it's not that much of a novelty anymore. Seeing Moms out surfing is as common as seeing dads out there. Well maybe not that common but it's getting there. And with more and more women surfing each year, there is a good chance that these future Moms are going to continue to surf. And really why would they not?

I don't know many Surfer dads who gave up surfing once they became fathers. Ha. If anything they wanted to surf even more.
I would imagine it would be the same for Moms. I see the local surfer moms all the time.

Erica Nardone is one who is always on each swell. When the kids are in school, or day care, or it's husband's Matt turn to watch them, she is out charging. But then again, Matt is a surfer. I would imagine there are days when they both want to surf.
But I guess they could face bigger problems than that.

There's others as well. I can't name them all, but I know of the ones I see on a regular basis. Heather Day, Heather O'Hara, Ginger Nelson Kellar, Jill Caisey, NoreenLynch, Teresa Paugh Quinn, Natasha Rafferty, and a bunch more...like I said I can't name you all. But I will blanket the whole scene by saying to you all. And I mean ALL Surf Moms and Surfer Moms. Happy Mothers
Day. We all appreciate what you have done as Mothers.

This day was and is for you. We LOVE YOU ALL!