My Mother's Day gift was a fishing license.  Now before all my lady friends go up in arms over no gifts and flowers, please understand that my request was not to run up any more bills, and I couldn't think of anything that I really want anyway.  I am so grateful for the family that I have, and my house does not need anything more to clutter it up, so I am happy with my gift.

The second half of my gift was to get me up at 6:30 this morning to go fishing.  Granted I was awake anyway, but I wouldn't have minded another hour to lounge in a warm bed.  That was not to be, however, as I had two excited children, and an equally excited husband keeping me company, and awake!  So up I got, made tea, had a bit of leftover coffee-cake and away we went, down to the river by the park--five minutes walk from the house.

My husband has been teaching me to fly-fish.  Up until today, it has been done with a pole and line on our side lawn.  Today was my first attempt with a hook on the end.  I thought I did pretty well for my first try.  I managed only to catch the line on the tree behind me one time--"You're putting your arm back too far"--and to partially embed the hook in my thigh one time.  The rest of the time, the fly made it into the water--sometimes with a loud plop and other times very gently.  The only problem was that I shut my eyes every time I cast, fearful of where that hook would land.

The children were very good.  The playground equipment was right behind us, and they played there most of the time, or came quietly over to watch and ask "Have you gotten anything yet?" while staying safely out of reach of my line.

The fish weren't biting this morning, and it was quite cold, so we came home after about an hour, and had more breakfast before starting into our lessons.  The poles are on the porch, waiting for another morning outing.