All week I had been looking forward to the weekend ahead of me. Actually, I look forward to every weekend ahead of me, but I knew this weekend was going to provide me with feelings I have needed for a long time now. I was headed for redemption with a loving friend and a bucket of live shrimp.
When the whistle blew, I was out of my work clothes and out the door. I rolled down all the windows, turned up my newly uploaded iPod and flew past every spring breaker on I65 S. I could feel the water and taste the crab boil. I stopped in Fairhope to surprise some good friends and steal their bed. We spent the night sitting around an old boat the boys are restoring, opening beer bottles with a sawzall and telling old stories.
I rose with the roosters and headed to the water, just needing time alone with the boat to rekindle the feelings filling my soul. Not too long ago we moved as one through the waters of Soldier Creek. Exploring. Fishing. Talking. It was as though the boat was an extension of me and me of it. I could not wait to see my old friend and renew the feelings I have desperately needed each and every day for the past five months, but I got the feeling, my loyal friend had other intentions for when I arrived.
I pulled up to the house and ran out to the boat with no hesitation. I untied my trusty steed and headed up the creek beds. The wind was trying to blow me into every grass bed and sand bar, but this was our time, this was our moment to remember the past. I wanted to feel the hands of the sun on my face and on my hair, so I let down the canopy top of the boat. I must have been so caught up in the moment, that I completely forgot how to release the canopy, because it went hurdling towards the water and not to its appropriate place of rest.
Finally I got the canopy rested on the boat but needed to raise it back up so I could continue on the ride. I was quickly reminded that I am much shorter than I ever remember I am and was unable to replace the canopy on my own. I rush into a fit of panic and frustration. I begin with the usual, “I am too short to do anything!” complaint and quickly moved on to the, “Why am I always alone?” crisis. I was able to completely detach the canopy from the boat, maneuver it into the well of the boat and head towards home. All I wanted to do was get home and handle the canopy situation, but I believe my faithful steed was not quite finished making me pay for being away so long.
The life jacket flew out of the boat. Why is it that something always flies out of the boat when you are hurry? So, I turned around to get it, but only to find myself face to face with a speeding boat of college spring breakers! I was able to dodge the racing fraternity, but not with any help from them. I went to grab the pole hook my father keeps in the boat for situations like these, but he had failed to mention the unnecessary rope tied to the hook, keeping it attached to the boat. Why me? I was able to retrieve the life jacket back into the boat while giving it a stern talking to about staying put and drove home.
As I tied up the boat and landed both feet firmly on the pier, I felt confused. Why had my loyal friend treated me this way? It was as if we had never met, nor spent countless hours connecting and answering each other’s needs. I needed some time to think, to try and take all of these new feelings in. After Dad and I worked on the canopy placing it in perfect position, I tried again.
I woke up at 7:30 am and untied my neglected friend with sorrow and apology. We trolled off in the early morning sun to the warm spots we like to visit first. As the wind tried to control our destinations, she stood strong and plunged through. We fished and whispered in the morning silence until it was time to return home for a hearty breakfast. No fish were caught, but a friendship was saved and my trusty steed was returned to me as I once new her.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Reel Cool
Over the years I have gone from am extreme tomboy to not so extreme. I still hate the process of getting ready and try to make it through as fast as I can, but I have started to pay attention to some of the more girly details. I get pedicures every two weeks and have not only started to paint my finger nails, but I have painted them RED!!!! I have two standard rings I wear every day, even though I habitually take them off and leave them places. I even make sure I have on mascara at all times so as to not look like a corpse. My closet is now full of business suit pieces, girly dresses and even, dare I say it, pink.
Please do not get too disappointed at these small changes as I begin to grow up at the age of 26. I still throw on the camo hat, wear the boots, choose a day at the farm over a day at Eastchase, plan to have a campfire at my reception and rarely shower when at the Bay. I mean, seriously, what is the point when I am just going to wake up and jump in the water anyway?
Even though some may say I have drifted from my tomboy ways, there are still things that stick hard in my soul......LIKE...... watching Saturday and Sunday morning fishing shows.
I cannot get enough of these, but you do have to get up early to watch them. What can I say? Early bird gets the worm!! I learn so much about the career I REALLY want and the skills I need to get it. I have even found my new best friend, even though she does not know it yet. (Sorry, LC, we could have been really good friends, but Collin never set up that Tee Time.)
Here is my break down of top three favorite shows:
1. G3 Sportsman: www.g3sportsman.com
These guys do some awesome fishing all over the place, but really show great highlights of Florida and the Keys. I was offered an internship in the keys when I was a senior at AU. And I chose Destin? What the…?
2. Arron’s Outdoors: www.aaronsoutdoorstv.com
These guys are just funny to me. It is a Dad and his four sons who are all under the age of 10. Most of the time the kids do better than their Dad! They are really family oriented, and focus on the importance of taking your kids on outdoors adventures and giving them these unique experiences. This is something I really believe in, and would love to put into action personally and professionally.
3. Melissa Fischer: This girl is awesome!!! And she kind of looks like me. Maybe? Melissa and her husband Chris host Off Shore Adventures (www.offshoreadventures.tv). She does everything from fishing guides (deep, dive and shallow), hunting guides, mountain terrain, you name it. She is even married to a hot boat captain who can keep up with her!! I mean, is she living my life or what?
I cannot really pin point what it is about these shows that makes me crave them. I think it has something to do with my fantasy job of wanting to get my captains license and work for an outdoor adventure outfitter. Who knows.
Did you know there is a fish called the Sheepshead Fish with black stripes like a Zebra? Now why didn’t they just name it the Zebra Head Fish? You learn something new every day!
So, eventhough my nails may be red and my toes may be "did", do not think for one second I would not get them dirty. My life would not be half as awesome as it is if I gave up on my tomboy tendencies.
Please do not get too disappointed at these small changes as I begin to grow up at the age of 26. I still throw on the camo hat, wear the boots, choose a day at the farm over a day at Eastchase, plan to have a campfire at my reception and rarely shower when at the Bay. I mean, seriously, what is the point when I am just going to wake up and jump in the water anyway?
Even though some may say I have drifted from my tomboy ways, there are still things that stick hard in my soul......LIKE...... watching Saturday and Sunday morning fishing shows.
I cannot get enough of these, but you do have to get up early to watch them. What can I say? Early bird gets the worm!! I learn so much about the career I REALLY want and the skills I need to get it. I have even found my new best friend, even though she does not know it yet. (Sorry, LC, we could have been really good friends, but Collin never set up that Tee Time.)
Here is my break down of top three favorite shows:
1. G3 Sportsman: www.g3sportsman.com
These guys do some awesome fishing all over the place, but really show great highlights of Florida and the Keys. I was offered an internship in the keys when I was a senior at AU. And I chose Destin? What the…?
2. Arron’s Outdoors: www.aaronsoutdoorstv.com
These guys are just funny to me. It is a Dad and his four sons who are all under the age of 10. Most of the time the kids do better than their Dad! They are really family oriented, and focus on the importance of taking your kids on outdoors adventures and giving them these unique experiences. This is something I really believe in, and would love to put into action personally and professionally.
3. Melissa Fischer: This girl is awesome!!! And she kind of looks like me. Maybe? Melissa and her husband Chris host Off Shore Adventures (www.offshoreadventures.tv). She does everything from fishing guides (deep, dive and shallow), hunting guides, mountain terrain, you name it. She is even married to a hot boat captain who can keep up with her!! I mean, is she living my life or what?
I cannot really pin point what it is about these shows that makes me crave them. I think it has something to do with my fantasy job of wanting to get my captains license and work for an outdoor adventure outfitter. Who knows.
Did you know there is a fish called the Sheepshead Fish with black stripes like a Zebra? Now why didn’t they just name it the Zebra Head Fish? You learn something new every day!
So, eventhough my nails may be red and my toes may be "did", do not think for one second I would not get them dirty. My life would not be half as awesome as it is if I gave up on my tomboy tendencies.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
I'm Springin'
Spring Forward has lifted me up, spun me around and placed a big fat kiss right on my lips! This time of year is by far one of my favorite times of the year. You can see the energy and the excitement bugging out of everyone’s eyes. New friends in the neighborhood are made while you find any reason at all to be outside.
For me, this is when I start to feel like a gerbil caged inside an office, so when five o’clock comes it is like Talladega out there. I roll down all the windows, tie up my hair and turn up the radio. When I pull up to a red light I slowly pass my gaze over to the car next to me and look at them through my Jackie-O’s saying, “Yeah, you wish you were me.”
Spring is when you start to work extra hard at the last minute for that new bikini (like you have not had the past five or six months to get started), you switch from wine to margaritas and you find yourself trying out new things just to satisfy that sudden desire for adventure or just something new. Tan skin starts to show here and there and I still find myself looking for mine! I usually find it in a bottle, but none the less, the white starts to fade and color is incorporated into every nook and cranny of our every day lives.
Front porches are over flowing, ponds are harvesting, motorcycles are revving, grills are smoking, boats are being hosed, laughter is reigning and hearts are smiling.
What else is needed?
For me, this is when I start to feel like a gerbil caged inside an office, so when five o’clock comes it is like Talladega out there. I roll down all the windows, tie up my hair and turn up the radio. When I pull up to a red light I slowly pass my gaze over to the car next to me and look at them through my Jackie-O’s saying, “Yeah, you wish you were me.”
Spring is when you start to work extra hard at the last minute for that new bikini (like you have not had the past five or six months to get started), you switch from wine to margaritas and you find yourself trying out new things just to satisfy that sudden desire for adventure or just something new. Tan skin starts to show here and there and I still find myself looking for mine! I usually find it in a bottle, but none the less, the white starts to fade and color is incorporated into every nook and cranny of our every day lives.
Front porches are over flowing, ponds are harvesting, motorcycles are revving, grills are smoking, boats are being hosed, laughter is reigning and hearts are smiling.
What else is needed?
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