I should have known we were in trouble
from the very first day, the very first cast.
You see, I have always loved to fish.
Going fishing with my daddy are some of my favorite childhood
memories. I have passed down this love
to exactly one of my girls, Lindsey. It
was on her cast that I should have
taken the hint.
Our whole crew had descended on my parent’s
farm to kick off the summer. It was time
to go fishing. We went outside to see what we could catch in my family’s
catfish pond. We were all set when my
niece needed some help. Lindsey
graciously put her pole down and offered some assistance. That is when it happened. We looked up, and Lindsey’s bobber disappeared. We ran to grab her pole, but it was too late.
The fish pulled pole and all into the water never to surface again.
Fish
One…..GONE!
Not to be done in by a silly little
ole fish, we went and found her another pole determined to try again. This time
she cast her line and immediately landed the biggest catfish that I have ever
seen. This would have been her crowning
moment and she knew it. She worked for
ten minutes in 95 degree heat on that monster.
It flipped and flopped, but she held on.
Now, it was as long as my arm and probably a good
7-8 pounds and the poor kid was exhausted. She almost had victory when it swam under my daddy’s ducks (decoys) on the
pond.
So now she was fighting Goliath….. and a duck.
So now she was fighting Goliath….. and a duck.
It was at this point she officially gave up, I
don’t blame her. She was sweating and
muddy. She could give it nothing else,
but we kept working. We told her we
would get it up to bank and she could pull it in. Asking my dad for some help, the task quickly became a family mission,
Daddy pulled the line tight, while I went to the bank to help Lindsey. We
could see the beast, and almost got it out of the water. The line broke just as
we were given a good look at it on the bank.
… Just
before it swam away.
I would not accept defeat. She had
worked too hard for this to be the one that got away. The monster had broken free, but the bobber
was still skimming across the water. I
pulled the paddle boat out and we jumped in.
Thelma and Louise! We were in hot pursuit of the fish, or shall
I say, the bobber. Now, this was a great idea until about 10 feet
out when the rope became tangled on the propeller. That is when Lindsey bailed on me. She jumped out of the boat and splashed back
to shore with the statement, “I am not
dying over a fish! Mom, you are going to sink.”
I should
have listened to her.
I chased that bobber/fish in my paddle
boat until the rope pulled so tight that I was stranded out in the middle of
the pond. I had no paddle and the added
joy of the thirty foot water fountain spraying straight up in the air getting me
soaking wet. I had to wait and float
back in ….. Defeated
Fish Two…..GONE
Then we tried again. This
time it was my turn. I hooked another
HUGE catfish, the kind you only hear about, but never see. This was the fish! It truly gave me a run for my money. It fought and fought, but I thought I had
it. Apparently the fish was smarter than
I. This crafty catfish dove into the mud and borrowed under
a pipe that ran the fountain. I decided
quickly that I needed reinforcements, so I recruited Daddy, Lindsey and Gary to
help me. We fought, we pulled, we dug, we did anything we could think of to get
it out.
My resolve was clear, I wouldn’t not be whooped three times in a row by a catfish!
There was just no way I was going to
let that ever happen.
That’s when
I got just a tad too desperate. I pushed
too far. I worked too hard and took just
one step too many…. and fell in the pond.
Completely.
and, since I was already in the water…
I did it.
I did say that I would do it one day.
Today was the day! I went hogging (hand fishing). I took my hands and just submerged them in
the muck attempting to force my victory.
I was going to win! I was going to come out with MY fish!
I came up empty. The only thing I found were
the priceless looks on the faces of my daddy, my daughter, and my husband laughing
so hard at the muddy vision in front of them that they were crying!
Fish Three…GONE!
Now, I know it seems crazy, I’ll give
you that. It is absurd, but I do have
witnesses to it all. My
mother even ended the night by looking at me the way that only she can and saying, “
Do not come into my house like that!”
Sadly, I have no fish to show. Also, I
currently do not have any fake toenails or fingernails. I decided in my attempt
to get clean, that I would pry them off to make sure the dysentery germs are
not still on me somewhere. Gary also
warned me not to put my hands or anything near my mouth…. for a while.
It is true; there were no great
catches today. We have no fish to show,
but we have some priceless memories.
Honestly, that is what it is all about anyway. When Lindsey grows up, what tales she will
get to tell as part of our crazy crew. No one will ever believe her (unless you know
us well), but she won’t get to say that her childhood was normal.
I have always believed that normal is so
overrated.
She is learning that life is about loving. It is about occasionally taking chances.
Sometimes it is about making a fool of yourself. It is about laughing and living every moment
to its full.
She is beginning to see that it is all
just part of an abundant, crazy, wonderful, life that God has promised HIS children.
... and she thinks we’re just
fishing.
