Joyce is a single parent, and she has a problem. Divorced for 12 years, she recently moved to Missouri with her 17-year-old son, Sam, and he wanted to go fishing.
Friends from his new school told him winter crappie fishing was good on area lakes. They also said that crappie caught in the winter tasted better than any other time of the year. He told his mom he wanted to go.
Joyce had an uncle in the area who was a fisherman. She called him to see if he would take Sam fishing. The uncle told her that he had heart problems and did not fish anymore. He still had his old boat and fishing equipment and no kids to give them to. Sam was welcome to it all.
She didn’t like the thought of him going alone. She told her son that maybe they could get someone from their church to take him. Sam thought about that for a minute.
“No, Mom,” he said. “I want you and me to do this together. Just the two of us, like we have done everything else.”
She hugged him.
“How could I say no,” she told a neighbor. Together, the two of them watched YouTube videos and read CrappieNOW Magazine on their computer. They purchased their fishing licenses.
Joyce told a man at church about what her son wanted to do. He told her about a friend who had a fishing guide service. He was known as one of the best crappie fishing guides in the area, and it would be best to hire him a few times until Sam learned how and where to do it.
She called the guide and booked a trip for her and Sam. The guide told her to wear plenty of warm clothing but to expect to be cold anyway. He guaranteed her they would go home with crappie, even if he had to give them some out of his freezer.
None of this was what Joyce had planned for quality time together with her son, but as she said, “Even if it’s not your interest, it’s your child’s interest and you should be supportive.”
On a cold January morning, they drove to the lake to meet the guide. Sam was awed by all the electronics he had in his boat. The guide was showing Joyce how to use a rod and reel.
Sam had no second thoughts about fishing with his mom. “We’ve always done a lot together,” he said.
As the guide headed out across the water, Joyce huddled up in a ball in the bottom of the boat, trying to keep warm. Sam was standing next to the guide with a big grin on his face.
They idled into a cove, and the guide started showing Sam how to use all the electronics. He showed Sam where to drop his crappie jig, and soon, he was reeling in his first crappie. It was a big one. Joyce was cheering him on.
“You did it!” she yelled. Later saying, “It was as exciting for me as it was for my son.”
It wasn’t long before Joyce was also reeling in crappie. They had embraced this fishing experience together. They had enough crappie for a couple of meals. He knows it will not always come that easily. He also knows that he and his mom together can do anything they put their minds to.
Sam is already planning his next fishing trip. The guide didn’t charge them and promised Sam one more trip for free.
“He won’t have to worry about finding someone to go with him”, Joyce said.
Sam smiled and said as he hugged his mom, “She is a pretty good fishing partner.”
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.” ~ Unknown
