Understanding Fishing Metaphors

If there was one thing we did regularly during our week in Iowa, it was fishing.  My kids love water, so I knew it was going to be fun, possibly messy, and we might all leave smelling, well. . . fishy.  But sitting on those banks and watching my children learn to cast a line and wait patiently for the trout to bite, I thought of a few lessons to be applied to life.  Like Flint Lockwood in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, you might say, "I don't understand fishing metaphors!", but I'll do my best to break them down.

1.  When seeking the best location, find a good guide.  

We would have been lost without my Dad this week.  He took us to the perfect trout stream where the water was cool, the shadows were long, and the fish were abundant.  Without him to show us the way, we never would have caught our full potential.  

Likewise in life, don't we all need that person of experience and wisdom?  Call it a mentor, parent, spouse, or friend, we want someone who has gone before us to proclaim that the best is up ahead and the bounty is plentiful.

2.  Learning to cast requires patience and practice.

The night Graham taught Maddox how to cast out a line, her initial motions were slow and unsuccessful.  It wasn't until she got the concept that casting is all done in the wrist that she began to improve and her hook hit the water instead of the ground behind her. 

In life, it's easy to take the back seat.  To let someone lead the way and step in at the last moment to reap the reward.  But until we learn for ourselves the work behind the gain, we can never fully experience victory. 

3.  If the water is clear, you may not get a bite.

The first night we arrived at the trout stream, the water was crystal clear.  We could see that the stream was loaded with trout, but the problem was they could see us too.  We came up shorthanded that evening.  But after a good rain the next day, we came back to a murkier fishing hole where the bounty under the surface was promised, yet harder to detect.  That night we caught our limit.

As in life, when the way seems crystal clear because of our own best made plans, we may not be fully living into the future intended for us.  There is wisdom in allowing the water to muddy up a bit.  Learning to live with less clarity helps us press in on the source of our life's plan.  "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."  Proverbs 19:21  Let's resolve to plan less and pull up deep and greater treasures, one by one.

 4.  When wading into the water, you might get wet.

Despite their rain boots and instructions not to wade in too far, my three water babies couldn't help themselves.  I suppose getting wet helped to solidify the experience of going to the stream and although it brought them some discomfort, it also brought a lot of joy.

Sometimes to get the full experience in life, we have to be willing to get our hands dirty and our feet wet.  To take risks.  Accept challenges.  And realize that though we may not be pretty when we reach the other side, we will have learned some valuable lessons along the way. 

5.  You've got to live with your catch.
On the night we caught our fill, those fish came home with us.  But they couldn't be neglected, not even for a day.  Long after the children were in bed, my dad and Graham were up cleaning fish.  Thankfully Mom forgot to cook them up for breakfast the next morning.  (I'm not really a trout-in-the-morning kind of girl). 

The age old adage warns, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!"  The people, places, and things put under our charge have to be tended to and cared for and protected.  Be it our children, our jobs, or our homes, we bear the responsibility to live with our "catch" and choose gratitude.  After all, we can't curse and bless at the same time.  I think I'll try thanks.

Kindred Cousins

There's something about a cousin.  With a face that resembles yours.  A similar hand gesture.  A familiar look.  A feeling that you've found someone who understands.  Who gets the wonky parents you've been living with all your life because your parents are siblings.  Who celebrates the holidays the same way you do because it's tradition.  Who loves the same grandparents.  Who hears the same childhood stories.  Are sung the same lullabies. 

 

I grew up amid a sea of cousins of whom I was one of the oldest.  Many of us lived in the same town and saw each other every Sunday for lunch and a pool day when the weather was warm.  We lived for birthday parties at Grandma's.  And we stood by each other as we got older.  Those are sweet memories and I have often hoped for similar relationships for my children with all of their cousins.

 

This week, our family is visiting my parents in Iowa and for the first time, all seven cousins on my side of the family were together.  The bonding was instantaneous and we had to practically tear them away from each other when it was time for my sister and her family to go back to Minneapolis.  They are growing up a thousand miles away from each other.  Who knows when we will all be together again?  Yet, friendships were formed, memories were made, and my little people now know more now about the special friends they call "cousins".  

 

 

Summertime Blues

It has been no more than a long weekend since the last day of school, and the eldest is already feeling antsy.  My budding 2nd grader knows better than to say the words "I'm bored"- she'll be given chores if she does- but that little social butterfly is genuinely lonely.  Without a dozen friends to interact with everyday, the empty feeling is valid.  I guess the summertime blues are real after all.  To combat the loneliness she is feeling, Graham and I have been spending some quality time with her this week doing activities that are perfect for lazy summer afternoons. . . chalk drawings, Lego building, puzzling, and coloring.  We even created the popular "Summer Bucket List" to have some things to anticipate in the coming months.  Looks like we'll be treasuring hunting, train riding, and zoo visiting this summer if Maddox has anything to do with it. 

In the meantime, my daughter is learning some valuable lessons; that time alone can be sweet and full of imaginative adventures, that brothers and sisters are actually fun to pal around with, that journaling her feelings is helpful, and that friends and playdates are not to be taken for granted.  In just a few minutes, her classmate Nora is stealing her away for the morning and she is elated! 

In the Crouch house, we are fighting summertime blues one day at a time!

Show Ready

Our house has been on the market a little over a month and we continue to wait with patience (sort of) on that perfect buyer who will appreciate it as much as we do.  That said, it is just flat hard to try to sell your home while your entire family still resides in it.  In lieu of making my children dwell outside in a tent until it is sold, I have adopted a few rules to keep things "show ready" while still letting kids be kids, as well as a couple of ways to make the house more pleasing to a potential buyer.

1.  Buy a Bucket.  Yep, a big old opaque Rubbermaid tub.  When the realtor asks to show the home, go on a mad raid throughout the house dumping every toy, lego piece, and leftover shoe imaginable inside.  Then use all of your arm power to lug that thing into the laundry room and throw it in with the Christmas decorations so people think it belongs there year round.  Just remember to empty it later so you can do it all over again the next time.

2.  Depersonalize.   As adorable as your family may be, you want others to see your place as their  home (bringing you closer to the contract phase), so lose the personal pictures.  I was able to take most of our frames off the walls without issue, but in the case of our stairwell pictures, there were too many nail holes to make the process of take-down worth it, so instead I went to my favorite paper store and bought coordinating wrapping paper and notecards, then framed them on the walls.  I miss the pictures of my kids, but appreciate the pleasing effect this provides.

3.  Create some color.  Head over to your local nursery and invest in some hanging baskets and potted flowers.  A little color can mean all the difference when making a first impression.  Also, bring some of the foliage inside.  For the last two months, the galvanized vase on my dining table has held fresh cuts from the yard, helping potential buyers to see the benefits of the bushes and trees on the property.  Don't have a lot of outdoor plants?  Try to grab a few fresh flowers every week to have somewhere in your house.

4.  Buy a tart warmer and go to town trying out new fragrances.  With three kids and a canine, things aren't always coming up roses around here, but I invested in an attractive warmer for my kitchen and am having the most fun trying out the Yankee Candle scents.  Favorite one so far is Vanilla Lime followed closely by Fluffy Towels.

5.  Continue to live.  Just because my house is for sale doesn't mean we're going to stop making Saturday morning blanket forts or baking up messes on a weekday afternoon.  Life goes on.  We don't know what the future holds, but we've planted a summer vegetable garden, hosted parties, and painted artwork on the screen porch.  Because it's still our home until it's not.  And we love it.