This year has been full of doing something new, and Memorial Day Weekend was no exception.
On this holiday, our family has enjoyed camping
with my in-laws and extended family. And
it’s my kind of camping…via motorhome with all the primary needs: shower, comfortable bed, refrigerator, and
air conditioning! In a
beautiful part of Ohio, we relax with a swimming pool, shade trees, grilling out,
campfires, s’mores, fishing, and more!
The 3-day weekend is both exciting and restful. The kids enjoy playing with cousins, and the
adults enjoy reading, talking, and laughing together. We spend most days hanging out…until special
moments come along that we participate in.
And two of those times are worthy to write about today.
The first was my son’s desire to “go fishin’.”
As my father would say, I’m not the brightest bulb when
it comes to sports…and fishing is no exception.
My grandpa had a pond in the back, and I vaguely remember going out with
my brother and dad to fish…only to realize I didn’t like slimy worms, hooking
the bait, waiting, or standing there waiting to catch something. I don’t remember catching anything, and even
if I did I wouldn’t want to remove the fish from the hook (Stick my hand in
that thing? Yuck!)
And now, 25+ years later, my son wants to fish. Of all the things in the world to do…
The great news is that my wife’s cousin and family enjoy
fishing, and they know how to go about it, and they are willing to teach my
son. Yay for family! So one early evening, we set out to
“go fish” with fishing poles, bobber thingies, a container of nightcrawlers
(Ew!), and a hope that we’d be able to catch something. I was there to watch and encourage the rest of the bunch.
For me, this is where it got interesting.
The fishing part was pretty straight forward. Tie the hook and bobber thingie, attach the
nightcrawler, press the button, throw and release the line, wait, reel it in
slowly, and start over. It took my kids a little bit of time, and then they got it. Other family members were using the same
technique…at first.
The interesting part
was when we all started to pay attention to our surroundings: the shady parts of the lake, where the sun
was, where the fish were, who was hooking the most fish, why they were successful, etc. The kids started listening to the
wise counsel of our fishing-friendly family members. They
watched where the fish were swimming and then moved to where the fish were biting. They patiently waited, allowing the fish to first notice the bait and then second act on it. They took great care to make sure the bait was ready on the line and not tangled in a web of plants nearby. Watching the fish nibble at the bait and either grab hold of it or choose to move on, the kids were giddy with excitement and trying hard to wait patiently. Once the fish did grab on, they quickly reeled
in the line and a beautiful fish soared into the air! The rest of us yelled and screamed and
whistled and hollered at the JOY as another fish was presented to the family!
Once we were aware of what we needed to do and then by
refining our methods, we experienced much more JOY and much better
results. Hmmmm….reminds me of a
certain verse about fishers of men…how interesting.
The second special moment of the weekend does not have
quite the same spiritual undertones.
Have you ever seen the movie
Son-in-Law? If you haven’t, get it now. If you have, then you’ll appreciate this
story all the more.
This city boy is being countri-fied.
On Sunday, it came to my attention that there would be
line dancing in the big shelter. If I
had a bucket list, line dancing would be on it.
My wife and family were a bit surprised by my
excitement at the thought of "gettin' cowboy" and "cutting a rug" with the country folk, but I was serious! When am I ever going to do this?!?! And the best part: no one knows me here! Why not? We all decided to “check it
out” and walked over to the big shelter at 7pm to see what it was all about. The temperature outside was about 95 degrees
and in that shelter, well, it was hot! There
were approximately 15 women and a few young guys copying what the instructor
was teaching them. And they were pretty
good! The unfamiliarity of this peculiar
movement combined with the ridiculous notion that I have rhythm and/or ability
motivated me (and
my wife’s cousin) to jump right in and try it!
While I am truly embarrassed by my ability, I am not too
proud to post
this video on facebook to prove that I actually did it!
What a blast! We
learned and danced the “
Chattahoochee” as well as the “Electric Slide.” As much as I wanted to make fun of the whole
line-dancing crowd, I have to admit it was hard work. I was sweating head to toe and definitely got
my cardio workout in! The moves were
fairly easy to learn, and when the music started it was a challenge to keep
up. Once I was able to focus
off the instructor and
on to the dance itself, it was easier to
enjoy the experience! If I had the
opportunity again, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
I may be a horrible dancer, but oh! It was so much fun!
Getting out of my comfort zone is always a good thing. Many
more things in this world are available for me to enjoy…if only I will throw
myself out there one more time and take another step forward.
