Let's start with David, out of the blue a few weeks ago, saying, "I know what I want to do for Father's Day".
Me: "What? Hmmmm? Oh, are we going to celebrate that this year...?".
David: "I want to take the kids fishing."
Me: "Sounds fun. I'll stay home with Tate while you take the girls."
David: "Nope. We're all going fishing together!".
Since this was his special day I bit my tongue from spitting out all the harrowing scenarios that went racing through my head at that moment and tried to act enthused. We bought our fishing licenses, scoped out the most family friendly spot the day before, and planned the best time of the day to go (after church and naps, but before Reese's grumpy time set in) which just so happened to fall right during the HOTTEST part of the day.
You can usually tell how well an outing is going to turn out during the first 5 minutes you're there. For this to be a successful Father's Day trip, David just wanted the kids to enjoy themselves and for the girls to catch a few fish. Reese caught her first fish (of 6 +...I kind of stopped counting after awhile--don't tell her) within the first few minutes. Off to a great start. As I was snapping her picture with her prized catch, something in my peripheral vision caught my attention. A mighty big fish splashing about in the lake...no, wait...that's DRUE! She had gotten a little too close to the edge and --KERSPLASH--in she went. David quickly scooped her out and long term trauma was averted. I hope.
The girls had practiced casting in the yard on Saturday, but weren't quite able to cast over the reeds at the lake, so they had David and I cast, then hand the poles to them. They handled them really well. Reese was catching a fish almost everytime we casted.
Drue caught her very first fish, and wanted to throw it back without having to touch it. Try and accomplish that feat. David had Reese and I switch places with him and Drue so Drue could catch a few more. Tate was watching all the goings on seatbuckled into his wagon. No doubt, he was having a grand old time laughing to himself about what a ridiculous spectacle we must have made.
After we switched spots, David quickly discovered we weren't alone in our great fishing locale. "GET UP TO THE VAN!" he hollered. The girls and I were a little confused and just stood there, so he yelled it again. This time, the girls and I ran up to the van, but left poor Tate alone in the wagon. "COME GET TATE!" he instructed. We had visitors. The kind that slither around on their bellies.
This would have been an excellent I told you so moment (on the drive over I mentioned about how I was concerned about snakes) however, I again held my tongue for the sake of Dad's Day!
Some boys who were fishing about 20 yards away came running over excitedly asking, "Where's the snake?!". Now how in the world did they know there was a snake over our way? Oh, perhaps my screams coupled with David's instructions had given it away. Bye bye perfect fishing spot. No way was I, or my little loved ones, getting anywhere near there again.
We found a boat dock not far away. Nice and shady. And snakeless. Reese caught a few more fish here and was able to reel them all the way in all by herself. Drue was still a little skittish from our near encounter, but I think David jumping up scared her more than the actual snake. She spent the rest of the time scared there was a snake on her line every time she reeled it in. We were cracking up at her little expressions. Once, as she reeled in some weeds she exclaimed, "Holy Cow! I got one!".
After a bit, Tate got a tad restless in his wagon so I took him and Drue over to the play area (aka tetanus infested/lead paint poison haven). It was the sorriest excuse for a playground I have seen in awhile. We didn't stay over there long. I would almost have rather taken my chances with the venomous critters...
We were all tired, hot, and ready to head home by the end. But David said at supper, "You girls, and Tate, gave me the best Father's Day gift of all today...memories."
1 comment:
What a great time!
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