Fish Camp

Five or six years ago we thought it would be fun to have "fish camp". We would invite some of the boys' friends and their dads and camp out by my dad's pond, fishing and having fun. Well, "fish camp" has turned into an annual event.

With the boys getting older, it seems fitting for them to take over and organize everything, sending out the emails, figuring out what we'll eat, etc. It's fun to see their enthusiasm, not so much just for the fishing, but the fun time that they'll share with their friends. It's also fun to see them growing, pulling the event together, making speeches and presenting the big fish award. 

For us dads, we don't fish a whole lot, but we enjoy the community of watching our kids having fun together, watching them help each other out as they cheer each other on. 

Some years we've put curfews out and everyone gets some sleep. Other years we don't do that and it seems like nobody gets any sleep. This year was one of those years. 

With an almost full blue moon, the sun set and rose again only to see the same kids still fishing. There were several kids that got some sleep and some of the wiser dads that camped a little further away from the pond and pavilion that also got some sleep.

I didn't fare quite so well, but I was able stretch out on my cot under the night sky and rest my body. The fish were biting, and dozing off to sleep was usually interrupted with a "get the net " or, "aw shucks missed one". 

A part of me wanted to say, "get to bed boys". The other part of me remembered camping and fishing in that same pond when I was a kid. I remembered when I was seven and dad had the pond built. I was trying to swim and play in it when the water was only ankle deep. I was so excited about what was coming.

Over the years, dad put a lot of work into the pond, planting water lilies and cattails, stocking and feeding the fish and trying to balance the little ecosystem around the pond. Ducks, geese, heron and osprey made their visit.

I spent many a night camping by the pond in my little canvas lean-to, listening to the bullfrogs and peepers, or waking up to an alarmed duck quacking in the middle of the night. Sometimes I stayed up and fished or watched the fire. Other nights I just slept.

After I was grown and no longer camping there, dad added a nice pavilion right over the spot where I had my fire ring. At first I didn't like the idea. Over the years I've learned to love it and it has become a nucleus for lots of family events, along with the boys fish camp.

As I lay there and thought about how lucky I was to grow up by my dad's pond, l thought, let the boys stay up and have fun. Hopefully one day they'll look back and remember the good times they had and try to pass that on to the future generations.

... and you know, sometimes it's good to miss a little sleep, reflect, and enjoy the night sky. Even for us older folks.

Good habits are necessary, but I wonder how much of God's beauty do we miss with our heads on the pillow of routine.

Try it! Get outside!