The petite woman with her long blonde ponytail floats in a supine position with her heels on the windsurf board, her hands firmly holding the boom of the sail, patiently waits for the gust of wind to pull her up onto her board. An accomplished windsurf sailor since the early 1970s, she embodies the modern windsurf woman.

She is a dedicated mother and grandmother. Before her divorce, she and her husband purchased property in Baja and built a lovely windsurf vacation home. While raising two sons as a single parent, she built (by herself) a beautiful home in the Northern Sierra Nevadas. She can swing a hammer with the best of them!

This plucky gal retired then took on the somewhat thankless task of overseeing the windsurf association to which we belong. When things got too political, she would grab her windsurf gear and just sail.

She has worked hard her whole life and now lives a wonderful nomadic lifestyle: six months in Mexico and six months in California, windsurfing almost every day of the year. She drives her truck the 1,200 miles…solo.

original photo by Meiry Heatlie Hayes. Used by permission.

During the summers you can find her volunteering for the windsurf association, helping with fundraising, teaching windsurf lessons to children and teens, and emceeing the annual fundraiser party.

Her bright blonde hair, blue twinkling eyes and tanned skinned, accentuated by a turquoise t-shirt, seem to embody what a 60+ year-old woman with a lifestyle built around her leisure pastime should look like.

Her easy smile and quick wit belie an incredible strength of character from a hard-fought life.

A good friend to many, we have stayed with her at her mountain home as well as her Baja home. She has helped me with my windsurfing and is one of the most generous people I know.

She is someone who I am proud to call a friend.

Day Six: A Character-Building Experience–Who’s the most interesting person (or people) you’ve met this year?

Today, write a post focusing on one — or more — of the people that have recently entered your life, and tell us how your narratives intersected. It can be your new partner, your newborn child, or the friendly barista whose real story you’d love to learn (or imagine), or any other person you’ve met for the first time in the past year.

Today’s twist: Turn your post into a character study.