It's another pleasant day in our little lake town here in the Midwest. Ryan went fishing this morning and it was a perfect day to catch crappies. I know sounds like something nasty! It's actually pronounced Croppie. It's a pan fish that is really biting this week. Our freezer is getting fuller. It's pretty tasty and we are only just beginning to learn some great recipe's for cooking it.
Today Ryan had yet another rude adult yell at him in near the lake while he was fishing. Yeah, they yelled at him and told him to "Get out of here! You don't belong here kid!" Or something close to that and twice as nasty. He of course pulled his association card out of his pocket and respectfully told the man that he was an association member. The man walked away! No apology. No remorse. This wasn't the first time this has happened either.
I have a hard time understanding why people are so rude to kids. Especially when my son is a good kid and he was doing something wholesome like fishing. He wasn't taking drugs, or drinking or making out with someones daughter. He was simply fishing and enjoying the outdoors. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why kids today are doing things that are wrong. Maybe sometimes adults just expect them to be rotten and so they give up and do what is expected!
I know, this isn't my normal happy blog entry. I just want everyone to wake up! Encourage kids to be good. Expect it of them! My kids behave because they know that is what I expect them to do. I don't believe in the self-fulfilling prophesy of thinking all kids are going to be rotten. Think it and they will!
Teach kids to do good things. Be an example! Take time to teach them how to fish. Sit on a dock with your legs dangling over the edge and talk to your son or daughter! Spend time with them. Tell them stories of things that made you feel good about what you were doing in life. Talk about God. Share your hopes and dreams. Show them that you care enough to spend a moment in time with just them. I know it works. I'm a mom and last week, I went fishing with my son. He felt loved and I was so happy! We are building memories for a lifetime. Someday, he's going to go fishing with his son or daughter and the legacy of time spent well will be passed on to my adorable grandchildren. Life is so good!
Showing posts with label Fishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fishing. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
What I'd Been Missing
This week has been such a mixed bag. We had our cars break down. Then later fixed by my dear husband and a wonderful family friend. They worked on it until 3am Monday night. I'm so pleased to have a vehicle once again!
I was also able to visit with my mother in law who was in town for the day. Ryan and I had such a nice time with her. She is Catholic and taught us more about her understanding of St. Patrick. I found it very interesting and clarified things for us. It would be nice to look into it more in depth and separate what the man was really about instead of wearing green and drinking green beer. Ugh, beer! Thank goodness we don't drink!
She did teach us that the shamrock was symbolic of the Catholic belief in the Trinity. In my own belief system we know that the Godhead consists of three distinct and separate personages Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost-- separate and distinct, but one in purpose.
When she left we packed up our fishing gear and hit the road. It's awesome to have a van again!
I'm grateful today for a fishing trip my son Ryan and I took yesterday. It was a beautiful, fun day! He had to hold me up because I'd worn tennis shoes and had no traction on the boat ramp covered with snow. He had his fishing waders on and had grippers on his shoes.
Once we got down to the bank and stopped laughing, we got down to business. We had three fishing poles and he had hundreds of lures and jigs for us to try out. It gave me a sense of freedom to try out my new fishing pole he'd made me buy last week. It was on sale and it really was lighter than the boys rods were.
As I looked around and breathed deeply the fresh crisp air I was filled with such a sense of well being and peace. This part of the upper Mississippi was open water all winter. The nuclear power plant in Monticello was a gift to many water fowl who wintered over this year and in years past.
I couldn't believe how many different species of geese I could see. They were flying low by the time they passed us--sometimes even turning their heads to look at us below. Then the most breathtaking scene unfolded before our eyes. An entire flock of swans glided down to meet us and land in the water not too far away! It was like a dream! Their calls filled the air and left me holding my breathe. What a gift! It got even better when I looked across the river to watch the ducks that were paired off and doing their mating dance and looked up to watch a bald eagle land in the top of craggy oak tree. It's calls joined in whistling it's warning. In those moments I was so grateful Ryan had insisted I come along.
I'm reminded today that taking time find balance in our lives is so important. How often do we forget to behold the beauty God has given us to enjoy? The gift of life is all around us and yet sometimes we're too busy to breathe in deeply what God has given us. The smell of freshly turned earth in the spring, the fragrant flowers soon to bloom-- that add a blanket of color to the whites and browns of winter, are long awaited.
Each of us can find beauty in the place in which we dwell. If you live in an apartment you still have birds you can feed and attract to your window sill. My friend in Russia hangs feeders from her balcony. It brings the song birds to her and she can enjoy them up close. She has sent pictures of the flowering trees in a nearby park she walks to.
We can each find nature in the towns and cities in which we dwell. We just have to be willing to look and listen and take the time to breathe in deeply what we've been given. I'm grateful for my son ,who reminded his mom the writer, what she'd been missing. I plan on taking a break more often to enjoy and appreciate the world around me more from now on.
I was also able to visit with my mother in law who was in town for the day. Ryan and I had such a nice time with her. She is Catholic and taught us more about her understanding of St. Patrick. I found it very interesting and clarified things for us. It would be nice to look into it more in depth and separate what the man was really about instead of wearing green and drinking green beer. Ugh, beer! Thank goodness we don't drink!
She did teach us that the shamrock was symbolic of the Catholic belief in the Trinity. In my own belief system we know that the Godhead consists of three distinct and separate personages Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost-- separate and distinct, but one in purpose.
When she left we packed up our fishing gear and hit the road. It's awesome to have a van again!
I'm grateful today for a fishing trip my son Ryan and I took yesterday. It was a beautiful, fun day! He had to hold me up because I'd worn tennis shoes and had no traction on the boat ramp covered with snow. He had his fishing waders on and had grippers on his shoes.
Once we got down to the bank and stopped laughing, we got down to business. We had three fishing poles and he had hundreds of lures and jigs for us to try out. It gave me a sense of freedom to try out my new fishing pole he'd made me buy last week. It was on sale and it really was lighter than the boys rods were.
As I looked around and breathed deeply the fresh crisp air I was filled with such a sense of well being and peace. This part of the upper Mississippi was open water all winter. The nuclear power plant in Monticello was a gift to many water fowl who wintered over this year and in years past.
I couldn't believe how many different species of geese I could see. They were flying low by the time they passed us--sometimes even turning their heads to look at us below. Then the most breathtaking scene unfolded before our eyes. An entire flock of swans glided down to meet us and land in the water not too far away! It was like a dream! Their calls filled the air and left me holding my breathe. What a gift! It got even better when I looked across the river to watch the ducks that were paired off and doing their mating dance and looked up to watch a bald eagle land in the top of craggy oak tree. It's calls joined in whistling it's warning. In those moments I was so grateful Ryan had insisted I come along.
I'm reminded today that taking time find balance in our lives is so important. How often do we forget to behold the beauty God has given us to enjoy? The gift of life is all around us and yet sometimes we're too busy to breathe in deeply what God has given us. The smell of freshly turned earth in the spring, the fragrant flowers soon to bloom-- that add a blanket of color to the whites and browns of winter, are long awaited.
Each of us can find beauty in the place in which we dwell. If you live in an apartment you still have birds you can feed and attract to your window sill. My friend in Russia hangs feeders from her balcony. It brings the song birds to her and she can enjoy them up close. She has sent pictures of the flowering trees in a nearby park she walks to.
We can each find nature in the towns and cities in which we dwell. We just have to be willing to look and listen and take the time to breathe in deeply what we've been given. I'm grateful for my son ,who reminded his mom the writer, what she'd been missing. I plan on taking a break more often to enjoy and appreciate the world around me more from now on.
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