My son Leon's passion for surfing began at the age of 13. Before and after school each day, he put on his wetsuit, picked up his companion, swam out beyond the surf line and waited to be challenged by his three-to-six foot friends.
One afternoon, the lifeguard reported over the phone to my husband Wilson that Leon's eye was badly injured by his board.
Wilson rushed him to the emergency room. He received 26 stitches from the corner of his eye to the bridge of his nose.
I was on an airplane flying home from a speaking engagement while Leon's eye was being stitched. Wilson drove directly to the airport after they left doctor's office. He greeted me at the gate and told me Leon was waiting in the car.
"Leon? I questioned. I remember thinking the waves must have been bad that day.
"He's been in an accident, but he's going to be fine."
A travelling working mother's worst nightmare had come true. I ran to the car so fast that the heel of my shoe broke of. I swung open the door to see that my youngest son had a patch over his eye and was leaning toward me crying," Oh, Ma, I'm so glad you're home."
I cried in his arms telling him how awful I felt about not being there when the life 'guard called.
"It's okay, Mom," he comforted me." You don't know how to surf anyway."
"What?" I asked, confused by his logic.
"I'll be fine. The doctor says I can go back in the water in eight days."
I wanted to tell him he wasn't allowed to go near water again until he was 35; but instead, I bit my tongue and hoped he would forget about surfing.
For the next seven days, he kept pressing me to let him surf again. One day: after I had repeated" No"to him for 100 time, he beat me at my own game.
"Mom, you taught us never to give up what we love."
I gave in.
Back then, Leon was just a boy with a passion for surfing. Now he's a man with a passion for surfing. And he's a man with a responsibility. He ranks among the top 25 professional surfers in the world.
Passionate people embrace what they love and never give up.
