For the Love of Fish

As I mentioned previously, Jared loves to fish.  He dreams of it. Wishes for it. Longs for it. Enjoys it... like nothing else I've ever seen him enjoy. When I asked about kids with disorders who focus on fishing to Dr. C., she said something opposite from what the websites say. She said kids who don't focus in other areas or even kids who have ADHD can still fish for an entire day without any symptoms. I know kids with ADHD and I couldn't imagine them sitting still for an hour to fish. She said that ADHD can solely mean that kids will focus on whatever they WANT to focus. To me, that sounds like a normal kid... or even a selfish adult. But, I respect her knowledge and according to her, kids who don't have any focus in any area of their lives can fish for a day.

Jared stood outside, by the lake, for 5 hours. Yes, you read that right. He fished for 5 hours, only stopping to eat a little and have more sunscreen applied. He had a lure with no bait. It was the heat of the day. Other people were swimming and boating nearby. I didn't know how he would catch anything. But, after about 5 hours, he caught something. I ran down to the water's edge with my camera. Unfortunately, as someone who is internally uncomfortable with living creatures stopping breathing on my watch, I decided to give the fish some water before I could run up to the house and wake up my husband, the real fisherman.

 

My plan didn't work. I dipped the fish in the water and it took off. He swam, with force, with a $5 torpedo hook stuck in his mouth and eye (eek!) and broke the line. Immediately, my son was devastated. I truly won "Worst Mom Award". That poor child stood there for 5 hours, wanting to catch and eat a fish, and in one second, mom let it swim away with Jared's only lure! I felt absolutely horrible. I felt a little better knowing it was after I took the photos!

When Jared came back up to the house, there was a commercial on for needy children in Africa. You know those commercials... the ones with the really sad looking children, with insects flying around them, with sad music in the background. Jared asked what it was. I told him about kids in the world not having food. He said, "I have an idea. I'll teach them how to fish. Then they can eat!". Aw... What is it they say? "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." My wise, sweet little boy!

Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. John 21:6 (NLT)