Man, I love coming home! North Carolina is especially wonderful this time of year. The birds are chirping. The daffodils and hyacinths have bloomed, leaving their sweet scent to hang in the air. The patio tiles retain the heat from the day long after the sun has set. And, best of all, everyone is happy! It is almost comical how friendly strangers are now compared to a month ago. Spring has definitely sprung. To celebrate, I’ve allowed myself a little indulgence. Let me explain…

You see, what had happened was…a couple days ago, I decided to skateboard. Not just to skateboard, but that I need to skateboard. And that I need to ride a little board…a Penny board. Why, you ask? Well, it is probably fair to blame this on Casey Neistat*, who rides some variety of board just about everywhere and makes it look really fun and ridiculously easy. Plus, Penny boards come in all sorts of fun colors. Who doesn’t love fun colors? Not this girl.

Winter was brutal for my southern soul. Now that the warmer spring weather is here, all I want to do is spend my day outside. I found my brother’s old 25-ish inch skateboard in the garage and have spent the last two days teaching myself how to ride it. It is completely reasonable for a full-fledged, responsible adult to take up skateboarding when they haven’t tried it in two decades and don’t have a ballerina’s grace, right? 😜Funny thing. I was, more or less, terrified of the skateboard I had as a kid. I excelled in riding it down the driveway…as long as I was seated. But that was about it. These past two days I have had an absolute blast on this little yellow cruiser! So fun! So much fun, in fact, that I’ve purchased a Penny skateboard of my very own. Happy (early) Birthday to me! Yay! Want to see it? Here’s my custom Penny. Isn’t she pretty? I’m super excited. I even had her shipped to my brother’s place so we can ride together! Just like old times.

Aside from actually standing up while riding, I learned a few things from my time on the little yellow board, like how important it is to continue to learn and play. I think this is an important reminder, as another birthday is rapidly approaching, that age means nothing. It is just number. Playing is good. It can keep us young…as long as we don’t bust our tail or break a hip as we push our own limits. I also found that my mind was completely at ease while I was skateboarding. I’m assuming the amount of focus required to prevent bodily harm edged out any nagging thoughts that were weighing me down. So far, so good on the staying-in-one-piece part; the inner peace that comes with it is like icing on the cake. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Maybe my inner child is a really good skateboarder. 😉

~malama pono~

ps. I get it now. I am, by definition, goofy.

*Just kidding. Love your videos and the inspiration, Casey! 👍🏼