Too Much Fun, Part 2

You may wonder if I am writing part two seriously or tongue-in-cheek. Believe me, I am serious, even if it appears at first that I am not. You see, I did not even have the chance to sit on my front steps, hold my head in my hands and cry over Baby Sister’s departure. I loved having some girl time more than I can say. I love living with 3 guys, I truly do. But they don’t love all things girly. (And I guess I am glad for this.) But sometimes my prissy side gets a little lonely. And no one laughs HARD at my sort of humor the way my sister does. Sigh. I miss her as I write this. But, alas, back to the point. I did not have an hour after she left before I was on the road with two of my guys to go trout fishing for three days. Yes. You read that right—Ted and N. were throwing things into the car as I was eating one last cupcake with Baby Sister, then I was off on a fishing adventure.

My poor little psyche was so confused. For almost a week, my sentences were finished before I could barely begin, I shopped for Yellow Box flip flops till I dropped, “did lunch”, and talked more than I have in a month. Now I was heading to fish. In the quiet. With boys. Not bad, just different.

Because Ted knew I had been encumbered with the responsibility of having Too Much Fun, he gladly made all meal plans and did the shopping for our time at the cabin. (Good thing, since I barely remembered we were going.) I threw my things in a bag as I chatted with my sister and hoped I wouldn’t forget anything. Ha. I got there with only the underwear on my person and no toothbrush. It would have been nice if the absent toothbrush had been noted before the first trip to WalMart. Thankfully, the remote cabin I had pictured was not terribly far from Wally World. We had hoped to stay remote, but civilization kept calling. The first two trips were of the above noted nature. On the third night, poor Ted accidentally burned his hand using a holey oven mitt to extract a pizza from the oven. So, when it wasn’t getting better, we went in search of relief for him. (He recommends Burn Jel Plus – has good ol’ lidocaine in it.)

The fishing part was way more fun than I had expected. We actually booked a guide with a boat, who knew how to dodge all the shoals on the river. He met us at 7:30 a.m., with fog all shrouded over the 50- something degree water; he explained that it formed from the heat meeting the cold water. It was eerie and fun to glide through that wispy fog to our trout-hauling destination. At first I thought I might need a jacket because of the chill coming off of the water, but a half hour later, the heat burned through and not a trace of a chill was to be found. He knew the lucky spots, and it wasn’t long before I was the first one reeling one in! My guys were nothing short of amazed, I think. N. was very pumped as he began to haul them in himself! He was so intense and so serious that I wondered who had inhabited his body. He sat very still, intent upon his purpose for such long periods of time. Well, he caught more fish than anyone and was way competitive about it, too. (This is a theme with him. I would hate to think what it would have been like if he had not caught any.)

Our guide was super nice and easy to be with, and very handy for cleaning the fish, too. N. stared in amazement as he sliced them open, popped a few of their heads off (in case we liked to eat them that way), and rinsed them. (Can I just say ewwww?) Ted took mental notes about the best way to cook them and we ate some of them that night.

I enjoyed the getaway-- the cabin was very nice and extra fishing on the dock in the evenings was a plus. Having meals taken care of by my husband was terrific and watching my son enjoy his "new favorite hobby" (as he said) was a joy. But, simply being with my guys, getting a taste of what makes them tick, and enjoying God’s creation—was what really made it too much fun.