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For my Book of Me (BOM) 2014
January 2014 BOM Challenge: This Time Last Year. I used 2 years ago because that was a significant time.
Journaling reads:
Mike and I had been drifting apart over the past 10 years of our marriage. He had been busy with a new job, training sessions, and changing work shifts which often caused us not to see much of each other for several days at a time. In his spare time he was usually out on a lake bass fishing somewhere or catching up on much needed sleep.
In 2010, Kami had graduated high school and was now out of the house attending college which left me in an empty and quiet house with a lot of free time on my hands. It was definitely a time of transition for our marriage and individually. By 2012, I was ready for a change but wasn't sure exactly how or what.
As a Christmas gift, 2011, my dad had purchased us, or should I say Mike, a lease to fish on a well-known, stocked, watershed pond for the year, 2012. Mike was beyond excited. While I didn't see what all the excitement was about, I went along with his enthusiasm. He assured me this was the dream lease of a lifetime. His enthusiasm being able to fish on this pond began to get me excited too. I made a commitment to myself that if our marriage would survive the empty nest syndrome some things would have to change and we would need to reconnect with each other somehow. Maybe, just maybe, fishing was the answer. I am an outdoors kind of gal, I can do this. I can fish.
I approached him with the idea that I would be his faithful fishing buddy, just one of the guys. I promised him I wouldn't complain, or do all the things his guy friends say about their wives doing like taking frequent potty breaks, or complaining about bugs, or smelly baits. I promised to remove my own fish from the hook and listen to his advice and training tips. It would be a way we could share an activity together and reconnect. Sure, to be perfectly honest, I had some reservations. I was afraid I would fail miserably. I resented him for never making this commitment to me in previous years and spending time with my doing my interests, but he never did. I had to make the move or it would never happen, so fishing it is.
The first year, 2012, we had a blast on our little leased pond. Mike taught me what he knew about bass fishing, and I listened and learned and (rarely) complained. We caught some really nice bass out of that pond, and I now have my own personal best records to beat. We went lure and tackle shopping any chance we could and he bought me some nice equipment. We took our girls out there and they too really enjoyed the experiences and have come to love fishing too. It seemed every opportunity we had, we went fishing, and by doing so, our relationship was improving. By 2013, our lease, and most of our state, was suffering from a severe drought. Our pond took a huge hit and suffered a serious fish kill. It was heart breaking to see all the dead fish lying on the shores. The only way we could get on the water was to get the big bass boat out and travel to an area less affected by the drought. So, it was time to take my training to the next level, the lake. In September, 2013, we traveled to Texas to fish a major tournament on Lake Fork and had a great time.
I am now hooked on fishing, and I am pretty darn good at it. I really do enjoy the time spent with my husband. I get excited when the fish are biting, and I am super competitive, teasing him when I catch a bigger one. The best feeling of all is seeing him proud of me, and hearing him bragging me up to his fishing friends about the fish "I" caught, or telling them we had a tough go but "she" never complained. Now, I always look forward to an opportunity to go fishing with him and it gives us a common interest to share.
Disclosure: We catch and release our fish. In the event we catch a "trophy" we would have a life-like replica made so the fish can be always be returned to the water.
No products have been added to this project.
Thanks for spreading positivity!
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