For those of you who know me, you know I like to play!  My favorite hob­bies have always included some kind of a board under my feet.  Surf­ing is my great­est pas­sion, but I also enjoy snow­board­ing and carve and long board­ing through the streets of Lake Oswego.  I get all kinds of funny looks and terse com­ments from neigh­bors, who must think I am some kind of teenage trou­ble­maker as I skate by with my kids and their friends.

I’m not alone in this, either.  Many times at the beach, on the moun­tain, or in the streets you will find my col­leagues and their kids right there with me.  Coach Barry Engel­man has recently taken up snow­board­ing with his boys, and he also surfs with me from time to time.  Coach Steve Scan­lon can often be found skat­ing in local park­ing garages at 11pm, or at Mount Hood board­ing with his kids.

Any­how, our imma­ture hob­bies are not the point of this post.

So what is my point?  That I hang out with boys in men’s bod­ies?  Maybe so, but I believe that there is some life-giving magic to be found in play­ing out­doors at any age.

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