Gone Fishing

Last weekend I took Wyatt on his first fishing trip. What an adventure for the both of us. You would have thought the poor boy had never been out of the house! He was so excited he couldn’t stand in one place for more than 5 seconds. Which means his fishing line didn’t stay in the water for more than 5 seconds either. Not too many fish caught like that but it seemed the number of fish caught was not the point of the day, but rather everything that went with fishing was the highlight.

But with every great adventure there is always a bit of trouble. I was very afraid Wyatt or I would need a trip to the hospital to have a fish hook removed as he was learning to cast his reel. Fortunately no one was hooked except a few fish. After 20 times of telling Wyatt to be careful not to fall into the water I saw he would be learning this lesson on his own. It happened, right at the bank. I was a short distance away as he fell face first into a shallow area. He was out before I could take a step toward him with eyes as big as half dollars. He looked himself over then at me, then came the tears. As I dried him off I explained I had told him to be careful and with sobbing tears running down his muddy little cheeks he said’ “But I didn’t hear you tell me be careful!”

The tears dried away and he was off throwing rocks and chasing ducks. As we drove home Wyatt grinned ear to ear and asked, “Can we come back tomorrow?”

What to Wear

As I was searching through my closet Wyatt asked, “What are you doing Daddy?” I said, “I’m trying to find something to wear to work tomorrow.” And with that my 4 year old fashion guru had the perfect ensemble in mind. “How about a train shirt?” Why didn’t I think of that? That would be perfect if I was four years old, or worked at a train store I thought to myself and laughed out loud.

Wyatt likes to help out and lending his fashion advice is just one of the ways. He loves to cook, or at least help mix the ingredients. He sometimes asks if we need to mow the grass, “I can use my mower to help you!” he says. Wyatt’s mower churns out bubbles as you push it. Or, “Let’s wash the car today with the hose!” Wyatt hates the automated car wash it scares him something fierce.

In a world where kids would rather sit around and play video games or ride skateboards, it’s nice to know my son wants to spend time with me and be helpful, even if his help sometimes turns out to be a little extra work for me.