Gone fishing

David showed up in my home office a couple of weeks ago with a drawing he had just made.

Here, Papa. It’s you and me fishing. This is you, and this is me, and those are the fish. And all the letters in my name are fishing also!

Yes, there’s a line across the paper separating land from water, with his name written neatly along that line, and fishing lines down into the water from each letter.

David has been asking if we could go fishing for quite a long time. A week ago he found out that his uncle is going to take him ice fishing this winter if conditions permit, and his cousin is going to take him fishing at a stream or lake this summer. David is really excited about these experiences to come. I’ve asked him to think about whether he wants to catch fish to eat, or if he really just wants the challenge of fishing but is hoping to catch and release. He is leaning towards catch and release, and understands that sometimes you have to release a fish even if you are hoping to catch fish to eat.

On New Year’s Eve, he built a new Lego fishing boat with his best friend, and has been merrily telling himself stories with that.

While David will someday make it out fishing and L will accompany him, I suspect I never will. But in his drawing I already have, and I treasure that.