...but I had to come to work instead

Mathew woke me up at 5am this morning, asking if we could go fishing again! I didn't realise quite how much he was taken by it yesterday, but it seems to have opened a door in his mind into a world he never knew existed, but now feels he cannot live without.
We were only at the river for about three hours at most, and that includes the walk from the car park and the set-up and pack-down time, but they obviously meant a lot to him. I must say that his little face was rather a picture the first time he was able to see a fish at the end of his line. (Sorry for anyone out there who doesn't like the idea of youngsters being taught to catch defenceless animals, but it does help serve an instinct that has been in us for millennia, without the need to blow holes in the side of deer with a shotgun or chase down foxes with a bassett hound.) He really surprised me with his patience, and how he took comfortably to sitting on the bank with his water bottle, just waiting for his float to get pulled under. Yes, we had a few 'BORED' moments, and we had a few sprints up and down the footpath to use up some energy and take care of the 'young boy' urge to keep moving, but generally speaking he was beautifully behaved and happy to just be there and be with his dad. And, lord oh lord, is that a wonderful thing to be able to type this morning.

RC 25-8-25