It was the best of times; it was the worst of times

Nah, not really. But I love the opening paragraph from a "Tale of Two Cities." I think most of life is like that, a paradox. We think things are either/or, when in reality, as least my own experience it is both/and. It is both the best and worst of times. My day is filled with consolation and desolation, good things and hard things. . . so I try to be conscious of those moments and engage them, not wish them away. I try to see God's movement along the way.

What was the best part of my day?
What was the worst part of my day?
Worst: computer crap at work. The internet was running sooooooooooo slow. It was so frustrating. But even more frustrating was the fact that I allowed it be frustrating and "control" my attitude. Yuck.

Best: fishing. After we ate dinner out on the deck, my husband needed to finish some work. It tears him a part to not spend that time with the kids and me, so I decided to “distract” the kids and we went fishing. Had a new $11 fishing pole, a box of worms – oh yea, no hooks! MORE FRUSTRATION, but this time I handled it a bit better and we ran up to the corner gas station and got the hooks we needed.

Earlier in the summer, I had taught Jeff how to put a worm on a hook. First you squeeze the worm apart and ONLY use a quarter of each night crawler. Then you put the worm on the hook like you are putting on a sock. We’re all set to go. Cast out the line, let the fish nibble on it. Allie catches a 6-7 inch catfish! Excitement, laughter, fear, more jumping up and down, whipping the poor fish around!

I’m thinking, “crap, how am I going to get the thing off the hook?” Is it a myth that catfish have stingers? So I get my garden gloves, use some pliers and yank out the hook. Gross. I enjoy almost all parts of fishing but taking it off the hook. When we tossed the fish back into the pond, it didn’t float to the top, so I’ll take that as a good sign. He’s alive!

Even in the midst of my “ordeal” in which I faced my fear of taking catfish off the line, we had fun. We smelt like worms and fish. Allie caught the biggest fish. We took pictures and made memories, and shared stories about when I was a little girl and went fishing with my dad. My dad will enjoy seeing our pictures and hearing the kids’ fishing stories.