We boarded and got settled near the rear of the boat. Neither of us had a clue what to do, but the helpful crew and my observant nature helped us to get along just fine. As we left shore and headed into the bay, we quickly heard the comments that "the water is rough today". Indeed, the waves were large and created the perfect conditions for a roller coaster like ride; something Ethan and I both enjoy. It didn't take very long for the back end of the boat to become crowded with people tossing their breakfast, and maybe the previous day’s dinner overboard! I kept asking Ethan if he was OK, and each time he responded confidently that he was fine! After about a 30 minute trip, we reached our first fishing area and were told we could cast our lines.
The adventure was underway, and it didn't take more than two minutes for Ethan to get a bite on his line! As he reeled in his line, we realized that in a matter of a couple of minutes, he had caught his first TWO fish! As I helped him out, my line started jerking like a child tugging your shirt when they are hungry! I had caught two as well! Ultimately, we caught our limit of 10 fish while dodging everyone running to the rail to make their contributions to the ecosystem. The day concluded with neither of us getting sick. I got my bowl of clam chowder as we headed to the bus with about fifteen pounds of fish that had been filleted for us on the boat. Ethan loved every minute of it and I learned how to stick my finger in the mouth of a fish to remove the hook-something that had always grossed me out!
As we arrived back in town, I Tweeted about the trip, and a "virtual friend" from Tennessee, (follow @1DanLawson for some great, positive Tweets) who happens to be the father of Ms. Tennessee 2012, Tweeted back, "Gotta post the Pics!" Mr. Lawson inspired this post, as right then I realized that we were having so much fun together, and so caught up in the moment, not to mention the boat was rocking very hard, that I had failed to take any pictures of Ethan catching fish!
Then a thought hit me, (of course you are probably thinking!) how many times have we missed out on a great moment because we are busy taking pictures? Think about it, our kid makes a great play on the field, but we didn't really see it because we were staring at the display on our phones. Maybe they walk across the stage to receive an award or a diploma, but we catch the moment through the filter of a camera. That awesome musical performance was missed as we struggled to focus our camera or unlock our cell phones!
I didn't get a single picture of him catching fish, but every single memory of the day is seared into my mind! Pictures can be destroyed or lost, but should I ever have the misfortune of losing my sight, nothing can take away the "photo" that is ingrained into my memory! Too often we focus so much on capturing the event on our camera and we miss out on the actual event that is now gone forever! So I say to you, take a photo if you can, but please don't miss "the moment" big or small. Fortunately, someone on the trip was assigned to take photos, so I know we posed for one, and if we are lucky, maybe we not only have the great memory of that day in our hearts and minds, but there may be pictures to prove that we really did catch some fish!
Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there, and as always, thanks for reading!
Ps. @1DanLawson that is a GREAT picture/Fathers Day card Chandler sent you! Nice picture of that fish! Ha Ha!
JP,
ReplyDeleteWhile the memory is indeed in your head, it is obviously also in your heart. I use pictures as a short cut. They save me time, they save me effort to effectively capture the mood, the setting, the smell in the air and the faces in the crowd. Believe me, I was ready for that chowder and I could feel the tug on the line as the boat was pitching. You painted a picture with much more resolution than any camera could capture.
While I am great with the pics, you have inspired me to do a better job of capturing the "soul" of my experiences. To choose not to take the shortcuts. I have three pictures hanging in my office of my leadership team on a retreat. All participants are actively engaged in rafting down the Ocoee (whitewater venue for the 1996 Olympics) except for one who happens to be hamming for the camera. Nearly everyone who sees the picture asks about Mike's pose. The rest of the story is the fact that while Mike was posing, his closest friend was under the raft fighting to survive the rapid. The picture tells none of the real story, and the real story is in my head and heart.
Your post reminded me to do a better job of sharing my heart!
DL
Thanks so much for commenting, and of course for asking the question that got me thinking, and ultimately led me to write this post!
ReplyDeleteJP