"I Did It"

Karen Ford – Jr. Guards

2004

I looked all through my albums and could not find one picture taken at the beach. All three of our kids love the ocean and they are passing that love and appreciation on to their children. When we first moved to Laguna we made sure our boy's Dean and Kurt) went into the Junior Guard Program (there were no programs for girls then) because we wanted them to be safe in their new environment. They learned not only how to be safe they learned how to survive in unexpected situations. They are both surfers and they sail. Both have had experiences that their Life Saving training from the Junior Guards has helped them through. That training also gave them self-confidence. Incredible!!! Because it was such a big part of our kids lives. I will never forget the time when our youngest son Dean finally got the courage to go through the blowhole at Woods Cove. My mom was watching the kids while Jerry and I took a vacation to Hawaii at that time. The first thing Dean said to us when we got off of the plane was "I did it!" He was so proud.