The little girl’s father had been taking her fishing since she could remember. He taught her to tie the knot for and bait the hook, and cast the line. He taught her how to wait patiently and watch her rod to look for a bite. He taught her how to grab her pole and set the hook when she had one. She did all of these things and never caught a fish. The fish always got away.
Still, she didn’t mind so much. She enjoyed fishing, but the part she really loved was getting time with her father all to herself. She was very close with him. Her father was her hero. She loved the short drive to their spot. She loved working her way down the slight embankment working diligently to find the proper footholds. She loved the way the river smelled and sounded at night. It was peaceful sitting on the big rock next to her father, just listening to the river breaking on the rocks. It was the time she enjoyed, not so much the activity they had chosen. Sometimes he would catch a fish, and he would show her how to make sure it was dead. Then he would take out his buck knife and show her how to gut and prepare it so that it could be fried for dinner the next night.
She remembered the time that her father, her Uncle Jay, and she had gone out on a canoe to fish. At first being so far out on the river had really scared her, but she didn’t want her father to think she was afraid. After awhile, the waves calmed down, and she realized that her father would never let anything bad happen to her. She always felt safe and secure when he was near, regardless of the situation. They spent the day out on the river, and didn’t get a single bite. Finally, it was getting dark, and it was drawing close to time to get home. All of the sudden, her father’s pole bent sharply, almost in half. She would never forget the look of excitement on her father’s face. The little girl could tell this was a big one, the one for which her father had been waiting. “Here baby feel this,” she said to her. He sat her between his knees and put the pole in her hands while he reached around and helped her hold it steady. She could not believe the force with which this fish was fighting. Her father fought that fish for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, after close to an hour, he got the fish into the boat and put on a stringer.
“Hey bro,” her uncle said, “let me see that fish.” So, her father handed his brother in law the stinger to admire the largest catfish the little girl had ever seen. As he admired it, the fish suddenly gave a huge flip of its body and swiftly yanked the stringer from her uncle’s hand. The fish glided silently back into the water. For the longest time her father would always tell people of “the one that got away.” People would always wonder how much he exaggerated that story. The little girl knew though, she knew he was not spinning a tall tale as they expected. He really had fought it for an hour, it really did almost snap his fishing pole, and it really had been that big.
The little girl remembered feeling jealous the first time her father took her little brother fishing. She didn’t feel that it was fair for him to share their time with her brother. She was even more jealous when her brother came home with a huge fish the first time he ever took him. Her father relayed an amazing story of the event. “I told him, now son, you hold your pole, and if you feel a big tug, you tell me.”
The boy waited about five minutes, he responded with excitement, “Daddy, I feel a big tug!”
“Surely not,” thought her father. “His line has only been in the water for five minutes.” Still, he humored his small son, and picked up his pole. Sure enough, he was right. He had a bite and helped him real in his first fish on his very first trip to the river. The little girl didn’t understand this. She knew more about fishing then her little brother. She could tie the knot and bait the hook. She could set the hook and she could even help gut the fish! Why had she never caught one of her own? “It’s bad enough he has taken something that was supposed to be ours and made it his too,” she though. “He has to go and catch a fish while he is at it?” She kept these thoughts to herself though. She didn’t want to ruin her brother’s moment. Besides, he was only little.
One night her father took her down to the river to fish. He had prepared special bait for them. He had let chicken livers sit in the sun all day. The little girl found this to be quite gross and didn’t particularly understand the though behind this. “Catfish love anything stinky,” he had told her. She took his word for it, but silently had her doubts. Still, down to the river they went. They tied and baited their hooks and cast them out to see what they could catch. The little girl was trying to get her pole situated so that it would rest against a rock, and she would not have to hold it. After fiddling with it for a several minutes and getting it just how she wanted it, she sat down. Not five seconds after she sat down, the pole fell over onto the rocks. This frustrated the little girl quite a bit. “Man! I just got it how I wanted it,” she exclaimed!
“Sweetie, did you think to see if you have a bite? You might have a fish.”
Her eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed her pole. Yes! She did have a bite! She could tell a huge catfish was on the other end of her line. She promptly set the hook and began reeling in the fish for which she had been waiting. Her father waited until she asked for help before stepping in and taking the rod. The fish was too big; she couldn’t get it in on her own. They worked together and finally, her father was able to retrieve it with their net. The girl hopped around on the bank yipping for joy. Finally she had caught her own fish! It was almost as big as the fish that had gotten away too! She and her father rejoiced over her first fish. After they were done triumphing, they raced home to show her mother and siblings HER fish. It was a proud day for her.
The little girl learned a lesson that evening. Sometimes, you have to be patient. You may have to wait for some things for which you long. You will not always understand why you have to wait and why some other people seem to get what you want before you do. Her brother caught a fish right away, but she knew it didn’t mean as much to him as her fish had meant to her. She waited for it much longer. Sometimes, she realized, you just have to wait. Most times, the waiting makes it even more worthwhile and enjoyable when you get it!
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