It was May 1st. I remember it like it was just yesterday.

I had just wrapped up a meeting with a friend in Grapevine. His parting words to me that day were along the lines of suggesting I just needed some good guy friends to hang out with and have fun. Sounded good to me! I headed to my car and smiled. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. I was already in Grapevine, so why not head to my office by the lake for a couple hours?

I had been there before, a small park by the lake. I’d grab a blanket and my laptop and head out for a short walk along the waters edge until I found a rock suitable for setting up my mobile office. Only this time along the way something caught my attention. A sign that read “DFW Surf“. I slowed down and looked in the direction the arrow was pointing. There in a small parking lot was a trailer that read DFW Surf. It looked like a few kayaks were stacked up next to it, and then I saw a guy walk around the corner of the trailer. So I put the car in reverse and decided to find out what this was all about.

That’s when I met Cody. I inquired about what he did. He gave me a brochure with some information and his number. He told me anytime I wanted to go paddle to just give him a call. In return I started to tell him about Heroes on the Water. I remember watching his eyes light up as I talked about what HOW did. Turns out Cody is a veteran and was very interested. I told him I would call him very soon and then headed out to my rock to get some work done.

Just 5 days later and I was back at the lake. I wasn’t there to work this time. I was there to try this Stand Up Paddleboard thing. No, not really. I was there to do yoga on a surfboard! You see, after spending just a few minute on DFW Surf’s website I discovered they offered a yoga class (on a SUP). I had been following @beachyogagirl on Instagram and decided that yoga on a surfboard was something I wanted to do! Now I thought I’d have to book a flight to California… I had no idea they were doing it on the lake.

So I showed up early to learn how to Stand-Up Paddle. It was kinda windy that day, but that wasn’t going to stop me. Cody gave me a short intro class and got me out on the water. I think he was surprised at how quickly I got the hang of the whole paddling thing. We just made it to the edge of the cove where the water opens up into the lake and turned around head back. Now that I could paddle, it was time for some yoga. I met Magen and she added a weight to my board so we could anchor while we did yoga… and we were off. We paddled to a small cove, dropped the weight and started yoga.

I LOVED it!

It was relaxing, challenging, and energizing. I knew the moment I looked over to see the sun set and turn the sky and water an array of colors that I was hooked.

But the adventure didn’t stop there! We pulled up our anchors and started to paddle back. Only we going into a strong wind. At one point, I didn’t feel like I was going anywhere… as if I was paddling on a treadmill. Magen went ahead… she could tell I was struggling, so I was sure she was going to get help. But that’s when I realized… my anchor had fallen off my board. I knelt down and pulled it back up… and I was off again. Just in time for Cody to reach me and see that I was just fine and didn’t need any help.

As I climbed in my car to head home, I found a blue DFW Surf bracelet hooked on my emergency brake. I smiled as I pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. Somehow I knew that my life had just changed… yet I had no idea just how much!