Fishing-palooza

Okay, so next week is the big trip to International Falls, MN to go fishing on a houseboat for 3 days...how cool is that? It will be cold, and probably a little windy, but a once in a lifetime trip to the great northwoods to fish and explore the Boundary Waters. As I have been packing and preparing for the trip, I couldn't be happier...one of the greatest benefits so far, other than catching up with a bunch of friends I haven't seen in awhile, has been a little unusual. And I mean that in a good way. :-)

So, everyone knows that my Dad was a huge fisherman, although this particular gene didn't get handed down to me. I like fishing, but I don't have the same passion that was there for my father. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I went...ice fishing in Missouri, perhaps? Anyway, the coolest thing has been happening lately...I have been dreaming about fishing A LOT. And everytime I do, my Dad has been in the dreams with me. I have really fond memories of family trips to Canada to go fishing for walleye, and hanging out in a cabin in the woods for a week. One week, I went fishing everyday and didn't catch a thing but I still had a great time (although I think I complained a lot, but hey! I was eleven). But even though I have all these fun memories, they haven't really come up until I have been dreaming about fishing in the great white north. And my Dad is there guiding my cast, or joking about the whopper that got away, or frying up the catch from the day for dinner as we all sit around and play cards. By participating in something that my Dad loved, he has come back to me in a vivid way. Now, there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think of my father (especially now that I am a sales manager on the road like he had been for awhile, very ironic), but any time I can wake up in the morning and savor a little more of him...it's a great day. I still miss him so much, but the pain subsides for just a little while, and I'll take whatever I can get.

Who knows, maybe I'll get out the golf clubs next weekend... :-)