Inch by inch the Caterpillar make its way
Members of the Charleston KB4girls chapter, plus a few new ladies, joined us for our annual Hatteras retreat last week. When we arrived - Susan Grossman, head of the KB4girls Hatteras Chapter, welcomed us - thank you Susan for your hospitality! What follows is a little story about learning. J
Typically, to go on one of our retreats, we require attendees must at least be riding on the board or more, but this year marked our first trip were we incorporated non experienced kiters into the mix. Excitingly, we had 6 girls learning and 4 girls kiting!!!
As we kicked off the event, I happily agreed to head up the pod of newbie gals and we quickly became a hit on the water. That evening the topic was whether we were to be deemed caterpillars or ducks…after much discussion…caterpillars won.
How did this name come about? Well, earlier that day gusty winds from the North kicked up and we worked with a 7M kite, and together all 5 of us bodydragged as a whole unit. I was deeply impressed by the girl’s enthusiasm and their willingness to take on whatever role they could during the learning process. I will remember their sweet smiles as they patiently struggled to get their bearings with the kite and grasp the challenging nuances of the sport. Perseverance continued to reign after day three, when we shadowed the learning crew on a bodydrag downy. At the end, I found two beaming girls despite the fact their kite had spent 99% of the time in the water pulling them downwind. They cheerfully expressed “we’re not giving up.”
It reminded me that I see so many new kiters who have hopes dashed by expecting too much too soon. Kiting requires patience, practice, and resolve. Understanding the learning process and setting realistic expectations is so critical to keeping your path to kite bliss strong and your self-esteem in tack.
During the rest of the week, the girls stayed in, “the messy middle,” a term I like to borrow from author SARK. This place contradicts our need for immediate glorious results, and is typically a frustrating landscape to navigate. But with kiting, many messy middle experiences must take place before we can reach the final goal of riding purposefully and continuous on our boards.
It’s an important reminder to accept this messy place; and understand it’s the only space where change can take hold. Over the next year I look forward to watching all the catapillars progress and eventually, like all others before them, they will transform and learn to fly!
PS. Thank you Dan Casey for capturing the caterpillar in progress!




