Surfing at 40+ was never an issue because age for me is not an issue. I’m a firm believer that it’s never too late to start anything you want in life.

You can start over, each morning and do whatever you want.

I don’t define myself or what I want to do by my age and neither should you.
I think it is how you feel in your own skin that matters.
You can be a fit, healthy chick in your fifties and a couch potato in your twenties.
You can be cancer or depression survivor and then turn your life around in a matter of months.

Being comfortable with my age, wrinkles and fine lines are one of my great achievements.

Yes, sometimes my skin is dry. Some nights I drink too much, don’t sleep enough and look like hell.
However, generally speaking, I’m OK with who I am and I credit this mostly to what I eat and the lifestyle changes I’ve made over the past four years.
I have still work to do to be comfortable with my kilos but that’s ok, we all have our hang-ups and having lost my dad only six months ago, I have decided to cut myself some slack for a while.

Nobody is perfect and I certainly don’t aspire to be perfect. I just want to feel good in my own skin and grow old gracefully and in good shape.

So today Mila and I are starting surfing lessons again.
We had done it twice in Devon in the past and last year we did a week-long course in Cap-Breton. I’m excited!

There are many health benefits you can reap from surfing at 40+ but the thing I most enjoy about it is that it’s one thing we can do as a family and each time we did, we had lots of fun.
This time, it’s a mother/daughter thing and I’m really looking forward to quality time with Mila.

I’m also very much looking forward to swearing when I have to put my wetsuit on, swearing when I have to carry my heavy board over 500 meters (light, short surfboards are for good surfers, not beginners like me), having wet hair so tangled that I will look like a wet poodle, bruising myself with my board and being so tired that I won’t be able to lift my arm to grab a glass of water :-)

However, I know that eventually, all of this will lead me to a great feeling of achievement when I will be able to stand up and ride a wave again.

How are you feeling about getting old? About starting over? About starting something new? Excited, scared, worried?

//Photography: Roxy Facer IG @roxface, wetsuit from Amuse Society