"God loves to talk to little boys while they're fishin'
That seems to be the time boys listen best.
It's the only quiet time there is for wishin'
It's the only time when God and boys can rest." -Gaither
7 years ago, in 2010, my husband decided to take 5-year old Micah on a fishing trip! He invited his friend, Kevin Booker & his two boys, K & J. Micah caught a 12" trout in Pleasant Lake that year! My Kevin & Micah spent one night sleeping in the truck & one night camping with the Bookers. A tradition was born!
Traditions & relationships are reinforced as each year passes & we build year upon year of..
... Ice Fishing Weekends:
... Labor Day Weekend camp-outs:
Or even the ones that have now ceased, but gave us 6 years of memories and fun, like Valentine's Day parties:
And Homeschool Field Days:
Yearly traditions become hooks to hang our hats on. Stories to tell for a lifetime. Memories to cherish. Yearly traditions are like regular, warm, family times- on steroids!
And so it has become.
Sometimes in May and sometimes in June, an extremely tightly-packed vehicle with now 4 boys & 2 men & boots, lures & poles, marshmallows & glow sticks, bug spray & sleeping bags- Heads from Carmel, Maine to Matagamon Wilderness Campground. No cell phone coverage. Time available for fishing & bonding!
So far, 2 "stories to tell for a lifetime" stick out:
1. The Epic Vomit of 2014!!!
Poor Micah. His precious belly can't handle the combination of lack of sleep and too many sweets! In the middle of the night he woke my Kevin up to tell him that he had thrown up. Oh, had he! ALL over his friend, K. All over his sleeping bag & pillow & his hair!!! I'm not sure of the exact details, but I think Kevin's response went something like this: "It's the middle of the night! We all need to sleep! If I wake Kevin up, we're going to have to all get up.... I think I'll just clean Micah up & we'll wait til morning. (Morning arrives.) K wakes up wondering what the sticky, stinky, thick substance is- In his hair, on his bedding! I can't say for sure, but I think there might have been some burning of pillow cases!! I don't know if the Bookers have brought supplies for campfire eclairs since!!
2. Camping with Pneumonia
Kevin is a trooper. 2011 was only the 2nd year of this Fishing Expedition tradition. And boy, was he sick! He had pneumonia, but he thought he could do it. And he did. Barely. He was terribly sick the whole time and what-do-you-know, he literally had a heart attack within hours of returning home, due to the stress & lack of oxygen from the pneumonia. (True story. His ticker is fine. They even checked!) So I daresay the moral of this story might be that our bodies have limits & maybe camping & fishing when you are very sick isn't a great idea!
It kind-of kills this picture-taking, picture-loving mama that I have very few pictures of these fishing trips!! However, as you can see, Kevin has given me some good ones! (And a couple of these I stole from the Booker mama!)
These boys get GRUBBY! They build fires & play in the dirt & buy treats at the store & go tubing & giggle at night & have glorious, screen-free, free-range, outdoor, Daddy-son-friend fun!
Fishing teaches the boys respect: Respect for other fisherman, respect for the rules, respect for the environment. Fishing teaches the boys patience!
And you know what? Although the Booker boys are quite hard-core fisherman, Micah isn't truly that 'into' fishing! Although he does love to eat the fish!
But here's the secret: It's not really about the fishing- We all know that, right!?
Here is a blog post that my friend, Amy, (of the Bookers), wrote about these fishing trips:
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