One of the life lessons I am currently reminding myself of is this: Be prepared for great memories to be made… especially when life itself is a distraction.
You spent most of your free time last week creating a fishing and pole and net. This was complete your idea.
It started when you asked me to go out to the woods with you to cut down some bamboo sticks, to use as the rods.
Then you used my old pocket knife from when I was a boy to carve notches in the poles for the hooks to stay secured in, when not in use.
You also used a bamboo stick to securely tape to an old net you found at the park last year.
The net turned out to be a good decision, because it was way to cold last Saturday morning for any fish to show up in the nearby creeks. Instead, your prize catch with a pretty decent sized crawfish.
I am proud of you for taking it upon yourself to invite me to make memories like this.
This past Saturday you and Papa and I had a genuinely great time at my Cousin Jessica’s wedding. It was a once in a lifetime experience you will never forget- I’m sure of it.
Back a couple of months ago when our family was driving back from Atlanta on our first family of road trip as a family of 4, we took a minor detour to go visit my grandparents on Papa’s side. We didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the last time we saw PawPaw Shell on this Earth.
To honor his life, my cousin Jessica had her wedding at PawPaw Shell’s farm in Sale Creek, Tennessee.
I had never once in my life seen PawPaw wearing anything other than a flannel shirt and a pair of overalls. Never pants, never jeans, never shorts- just overalls. He was even buried in his overalls.
Undeniably, PawPaw Shell was one of the most Southern men I ever knew.
Therefore, for my Cousin Jessica to have a wedding that also honored our grandfather… it had to be unapologetically country. So it was.
For the music, Jessica’s step-dad pulled up his truck to the barn and rolled down the windows, so everyone could hear the music.
After the wedding, everyone lined up for the meal, which consisted of potluck. As for Papa and me, we brought the vegan pasta salad that Nonna made. There was also some vegan chili there as well.
I found a cinder block for you to sit on to eat the mac-and-cheese Nonna packed for you. Had we realized though, mac-and-cheese was actually already a menu item on the barn buffet.
A popular place to sit during the meal was in the bed of one of the many pick-up trucks there.
You enjoyed your wedding favor, which was a children’s duck call.
After the meal, we walked down to the pond to go fishing. You had never actually been “real fishing” before, so this was a really big deal for you.
No one brought bait, so it was a matter of digging for worms and catching grasshoppers…
My Cousin Jessica’s son Breyan was able to catch 3 fish right in a row! That was especially amazing, since he explained to me it was his first time fishing.
Unfortunately, you didn’t have such luck. You didn’t catch your first fish, but we will surely try again.
As we made our way back to the barn to get you a piece of wedding cake, we saw my Cousin Angie’s son with a ball python around his snake.
He explained it was his pet that he’s had for a year and a half. I decided to hold the snake, as I don’t necessarily remember holding one before at any point in my life.
You decided to pass on the opportunity, which surprised me, since we go to the Repticon reptile show every year.
After we left the wedding, Papa drove us by the famous Spaceship House on Signal Mountain. PawPaw Shell helped build it, back in 1973.
Though it all may seem like a dream to you now, I promise, it was all real. That all really happened! From the fishing to the snake to the UFO house!
This is the 1st of several entries in my new miniseries, Family in a Camry. In August while on our annual family vacation, Toyota loaned us a 2015 Camry for our road trips around California.
So I decided to compile all our video footage and photos into a narrative to remember our trip.
After a day of flying from Nashville to Sacramento, you and I set aside a day to spend together; just father and son.
However, that’s a tricky phrase because it typically refers to father and daughter dates. When you talk about a father and son having a “date,” it does sound kind of weird.
Oh well, I’m committing to the phrase. I don’t care.
But I should also acknowledge there are critics out there who would say, “Why do you have to call it anything at all? Why can’t a father and his son hang out without it having to be a big deal as compared to if a mother spends time with her child? That’s like when people say a dad is babysitting.”
My reasoning is this: Mommy and I both work full time. It can be challenging enough for us all 3 to have good quality time together; much less just 2 of us at a time.
Therefore, it’s worth celebrating when I can spend a whole day with you. I am very aware of the unique dynamics that occur when you and I get to hang out together doing fun stuff.
So with that being said, once we settled in, you and I had some good times together at the Elk Grove Park; in the midst of a family reunion. We discovered that you and your cousin Scarlet have the same owl toy; you got yours in the Nashville airport on the way there.
You and I went fishing. It was something you had been looking forward to for weeks. You even especially packed your bug catching net for the event.
Yes, you are a vegetarian and I am a vegan, but we still made it work…
We didn’t have much luck with the fish in the pond there at the park, but you were very successful at “catching snails.”
For some reason, there were large, vacated snail shells all around the edge of the pond. So you filled your net with them and you were quite proud of your catch.
Later we went to go a see a movie together. While you were set on going to see Minions, for some reason you changed your mind on the drive there. Actually, I’m glad you did, because we loved Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. I’ve written a couple of blog posts about it, too:
I thought it was funny how you told me your favorite part of the movie was the female character, Sadness, who you told me is “a boy with long hair.”
For lunch we went to a vegan restaurant, which is a franchise, called The Loving Hut. I let you choose what we’d have for dessert. You chose the orange vanilla cake; we split it 50/50.
I was happy that successfully shot you with the straw wrapper.
Of course, I created a 2 minute video that features everything I just told you. So here it is:
But wait, there’s more…
We also spent a couple hours together filming the 19th webisode of Jack-Man as well. Here’s that video as well.
So there’s the 1st official entry of my Family in a Camry miniseries. Still more fun to come…
Immediately after leaving Walden Farm on Saturday, Mommy wanted to stop by some “cute” antique shops in downtown Nolensville.
I spotted a creek behind the shops, so you and I did the guy thing and opted for the outdoor exploration adventure as opposed to looking at beautiful junk in stores.
Our original agenda was simply to find rocks and sticks to throw into the water.
However, after you realized the creek was swarming with what appeared to be tiny tadpoles, you decided to “catch a tadpole” instead.
First, you called them: “Here, tadpoles! Come to me!”
Then you used a stick as a fishing pole, hoping to catch a few of them. I joined you, of course.
It didn’t take long at all before you thought you caught one, and boy, were you proud!
Granted, it was just algae… as it was each time after that.
But in your mind, there was a real possibility of actually being able to catch tadpoles simply by placing a stick down into the water for just a few seconds at a time; with no bait attached.
I love your fascination with fishing. Never mind the irony in the fact our family doesn’t even eat fish or any kind of meat.
Still, it’s as if it’s ingrained in a little boy’s mind to want to go fishing with his Daddy. Likewise, I want to “go fishing” with you.
You and I could have stayed out there at the creek all day, but Mommy eventually came back from looking around at the shops; happy to see us doing “guy things.”
Our recent fishing trip has inspired me to already consider buying us a small 2-man tent to put out on the back patio of our new house once we move in.
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