Life Changes

It is amazing how the days have gone by. This weekend my brother Joe was in town due to my niece playing in a softball tournament in Salem, Oregon. She is almost a teenager now and I remember like it was yesterday him telling me the news. We were driving through West Glacier while on a fishing excursion when he told me. Though a parent myself now, back then I could only imagine what was going through his mind. Thinking about it, I am grateful that he was able to spend time away with me to think and talk about what was going on.

Life is a weird thing, it is amazing how many times I can think back about both the good and bad things that have occurred and how fishing or just getting out on the water helped to get me through it. There were even those times when significant life changes occurred on days that I was fishing.  I do not know if it was my brother who taught me to use fishing as a coping mechanism or just coincidence, but what I do know is he was the one who got me interested in fly fishing in general. Sure we both came from The River Runs Through It era of fly fishing, but it was he who took me out on the Yuba River in California while in college and showed me how to swing flies for shad. Hell, I even hooked one and from then on this sickness I now call a way of life has manifested into who I am.

With time and life, things have changed significantly. My brother who was taught how to cast at the Golden Gate fishing club seldom gets the chance to spend anytime on the water and seldom touches his fly rods except when he visits. Now a husband and father of two, he spends most of his time with his family and the different activities involved with his kids like coaching softball. He does this while traveling across the country and world several times a year for work.

This cannot help but make me think about how much I will change in order to be a better parent. Will I become some kind of soccer dad? Or will I become the parent of a Junior US Fly Fishing Team member? Only time will tell, but I like me odds. A few hours ago my daughter talked me into waking up early to go fishing. This brings me to why the hell am I typing this because we plan on getting up in four hours.

Hmm, I am thinking the Echo Gecko and my new Echo 3 are gonna see some skater time in the morning.