Life Lessons in Fishing
Being a parent is seriously hard. One of the hardest things for me, is when I have to punish my kids for bad behavior. Today, we had to address an issue regarding the actions of my child's peers on social media. It's terrifying to see what some kids post, say, and do publicly. It's even harder to raise the kind of child that will say something when they see something wrong online. Technology is great, but has to be handled in the same sensitive manner you would handle a weapon. You wouldn't leave your kid unattended with a loaded gun would you? In the blink of an eye, one stupid message, between friends, could send your child to jail. Know their accounts. Know their passwords. Check it regularly and spontaneously. Thankfully, my son wasn't doing anything wrong - this time - other than being guilty by association. But I want it to be a lesson for him that keeps him on the right path. Until then, we will be doing a lot of manual labor, reading, writing, and fishing.
Why did I include fishing? Because that is where my head went first when I decided to build this "Operation Parenting Blitzkrieg" punishment plan. It is so important to me to raise a strong, upstanding, young man. As a woman, there are really only so many things I can teach him about being a man, but as a woman FISHERMAN I can teach him more. I'm convinced that he just hasn't been going enough, or taking it seriously. We've been busy with our sports, school, moving, selling our house, and overall living that consumes us every day. He needs those quiet moments on the water to think about his life and where it's going to take him. He needs those days where all day was spent trying, but nothing was caught. Which will lead him to those days where he does some research, figures out what the fish are biting on, and brings home a nice catch. He needs those days where he learns the importance of securing your things, because he lost his favorite hat or his favorite shoe in the water. He needs that all. So, while I'm sitting on the porch drinking my lemonade, feet kicked up, wearing a big hat and Fishing Diva shirt, watching him mow the yard. I'm going to be secretly planning our next fishing trip.