There are a few things I just straight up don’t enjoy doing. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but considering it’s the whole premise of this post, I need to just embrace it and let you all in on my dirty little secret.
I don’t enjoy fishing. Not. One. Bit.
Now, you might be thinking, what’s not to like? River, canoe, kayak, lake, relaxation, maybe beer…
No. Just so much no.
Tangled lines, expensive lures, “mom, my line is tangled,” “mom there’s something wrong with my reel,” “mom I’m snagged on something in the water.”
I just don’t have the patience required to make this an enjoyable learning experience for my kids. In fact, I don’t even have enough patience to mess around with this hobby without kids.
Cue dreamy husband who loves to fish.
Chase is endlessly patient with these things. It blows my mind how he doesn’t hesitate to untangle lines all day long without much complaint. This is the same patience I see him putting into things like dirt bike maintenance for my oldest son. It just isn’t my thing and I accept that.
My middle son, Ikey, doesn’t enjoy fishing either. His signature move is asking “is it time to go yet,” 400,000 times until you distract him with the rocks or mud in the river. He and I are a lot alike, we’d rather be scoping out some cool stuff than untangling lines. That said, I’m glad he had a chance to try it out. This is how we determine what hobbies aren’t for us, and which ones will carry us into adulthood.
Chase on the other hand, doesn’t have the patience for long kid friendly hikes full of complaining children. I could do this all day long.
One of the most important things about happily adventuring and finding your place in the great outdoors, is finding people in your life who can help you to introduce your children to a variety of different activities until you find the ones that suit you best. This means pulling on all of your resources. Parents, grandparents, mom, dad, step parents, uncles, aunties and friends. Let people show your kids all the cool things about an outdoor activity that you may not have the patience or passion for. You never know if your kids might find something that is the outdoorsy magic they’ve spent their lives searching for.
I still go along when my family goes fishing, but I spend more of my time taking photos and exploring than I do actually helping with the process of fishing. Ikey (my middle son) plays in the mud and eventually the rest of the crew joins him. This leaves Chase an opportunity to fish in peace, which really is a beautiful thing. This helps us to all be happy, be together as a family unit and still find our own outdoor passions.