A Great Day....to fish.

Have you ever had what you thought was the perfect day?  Just one of those days where everything seemed to fall together just so--one of those days where because of it, you know that the Big Guy upstairs is watching over us.  Sometimes they seem like they come a little less often as I get older.  However, in the same respect, I seem to appreciate these heaven-sent days like no other.  

Well, I think we had one of those days this past weekend.  Our Sunday was hands-down, one of the greatest days we have had as a family.  We had spent the night at Ryan's parents' house so we got to sleep in, which is a great start!  We woke up mid-morning to head out on our first ice fishing excursion as a family.  To be exact, it was the first time Aiden, Aksel and I had ever ice fished.  Ok, yeah, Aksel can't really fish, but he sure had fun chucking his bottle and making it fall in the fish hole a bunch of times!  We decided to head out to the lake that is about 15 minutes away and give it a shot.  We had no idea whether this was going to work or not.  Ice fishing with a 3 year old and a 9 month old---some people would think we were nuts! 

Anyway, the weather was ideal--no wind, 40 degrees!  That is absolutely unheard of in North Dakota in February.  (Side note:  this winter will go down in the record books.  I have never in my life seen it this mild before.)  Ok, back to the fishing--well, Aiden was just so excited, he could barely stay on his feet as we skated out to the fish house.  When we got in, he got a crash course in how to hold the rod, how to tell when there is a bite, and how to reel it in.  Before we knew it, he already had a fish!  And so it began, the day where we were catching little 4-6 inch Perch almost every minute or two!  Aiden loved catching those "little porches!"   Ryan showed him the sharp spikes that are on their fins and had him feel the scales and their mouths.  Every single fish we caught that day Aiden had to touch.  It was magical to see him so intrigued by them.  

As for me, I do not touch the fish.  It stems from an utter disgust of touching anything living (or dead) besides humans.  (Don't worry, we will address that topic at a later date.)  So Ryan spent his day admiring all the fish we caught, while removing them from our lines.  He also had the great joy of replacing our bait whenever necessary.  This didn't seem to bother him at all.  He was just so content watching us have a good time. 

The fishing trip came to a close after about 4 hours, when I realized I would not be winning the 'mom of the year' award, because I totally forgot Aksel's formula---oops!  He was getting grumpy anyway and I think Aiden's attention span had trickled down the fish hole with all the little porches we threw back.  

On our trip home, Aiden kept saying he caught five fish.  It was actually quite a bit more than that, but he likes the #5, I guess.  Both boys fell asleep about a mile down the road.  I figure ice fishing is hard work!  We got home that night with a great sense of accomplishment.  We managed to enjoy the whole afternoon in a 6x6 space without a major meltdown or trauma.  It was heavenly.  

After our afternoon of fishing, we made a visit to see Ryan's grandma.  She was sleeping peacefully and we knew she would soon be in heaven.  Even though she wasn't awake, I know she appreciated being close to Ryan and the boys one last time.  It was a bittersweet visit, but very much needed.  


Our wonderful day wrapped up with the Superbowl and a great win by the Giants over the Patriots!  (This was more of the icing on the cake for this mama, as I cheer for the Vikings, the Steelers and whatever team is playing the Patriots.)  A long day indeed, but I can't say enough how well it went.

I know this whole thing may seem insignificant in the whole scheme of things, but to our family, this was a huge success.  We made some memories that will last forever and learned something new; had a few tears and shared a few laughs.  Whenever this is possible, it is well worth it.  I hope that days like these become more of the norm around here, but until then, we will cherish every one we can get.