September 14 – “Fishin’ with DadDad”

I went fishing with three little boys and their Daddy yesterday.  I have been the Daddy with the three little boys before, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to be somewhat the outsider looking in.  Quite an event, actually.  Kel and his three boys came over and we went over to Nathan’s house in Jamaica Beach so we could do a little fishing off the bank into the canal.  Prospects are generally kind of limited there as to the variety of fish available, but I figured there would be plenty of hardhead catfish, so they could at least have the thrill of reeling something in.  If a trout or redfish or flounder happened to show up, we certainly wouldn’t be upset, but with lowered expectations come greater prospects for surprise. 

Josiah, who is just three years old, took the rod from me after I cast it out for him, and immediately started reeling it in.  I have learned from past experience not to say anything about that.  He needs to be doing something, or this whole fishing experience won’t mean anything to him.  Besides, he didn’t see what bait I put on the hook anyway.  Sure enough, when he got it onto the shore, he was ecstatic to have caught that “little fish” on the hook there.  His “little fish” was the live shrimp bait, but he didn’t need to know that.  His day was a success.  And his fish being landed, he was pretty much ready to leave.  He began exploring the area to see what other treasure he might come up with, much to the chagrin of his Dad.  Kel did a good job corralling him, though.  The two of them got some bread that their Mom had sent and spent some time feeding the seagulls.  When that got old Kel set him up in the car to watch a video. 

Micah had the first hit, and sure enough, after a mighty struggle, he pulled in the first fish of the day, a hardhead.  He stuck with it for quite a while, too, before he began to get a little bored.  He joined Josiah in the car, so Kel now had to split his Daddy time between them and Jachin, who was doggedly determined to keep fishing until we ran out of bait.  Somewhere along this point in time Kel sighed deeply and asked me, “Was this what it was like when you tried to take us fishing?”  I assured him that it was, indeed.  He stood pensively for a moment, then added, “Parenting is hard.”  That one was easy to agree with.  Always has been.  Always will be. 

Micah returned to his pole after his hiatus, and eventually reeled in a small sting ray.  Jaching kept on casting, and he was rewarded with several sand trout.  I managed a fair sized speckled trout in the process, leading Kel to insist that my pole must be magical.  Jachin jumped all over that one.  He wanted me to cast out with my magic pole and then let him reel in the big fish.  We gave it a try a time or two, but the magic must have been worn out.  Guess that happens when the wizard gets old. 

The trip ended on what threatened to be a sour note.  Kel couldn’t get their car started.  I guess the movie watching and Josiah’s attempts to try out all the electrical properties of the car (windshield wipers, lights, horn) just wore down the battery.  After several attempts and a good screwdriver cleaning of the terminal, we managed to get it jumped enough to start back up and the alternator do its job.  I think the boys had a good time, and our next family fish fry will have a little more personal meaning to it when the fillets we pull out of the freezer have on the package: “Caught by Jachin, Micah, and Josiah on their September 13^th fishing trip.”

Psalms 111:5 says, “He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.”

Father, thank you for the chance to do a little “throwback seafood shopping” with the boys.  It was fun.  Amen.