The trouble with ice fishing.

There is a second story to our trip up North. You see, Carpenter and I have an understanding that, while he is ice fishing , I am to be soaking, quite happily, in the HOT TUB back at the hotel.

Unfortunately, the hot tub was closed due to renovations, funny how they neglected to tell me that when I booked the room. The pool, was freezing, too, and there are not that many shops in the town to look through, so with a lot of begging, and persuasion, by Carpenter and the kids, I ended up here; Squatting over a hole in the ice, jigging a rod, baiting my hook with maggots, and freezing my butt off for some fish at 7:30 in the morning. I hate ice fishing.

I can handle fishing in the summer time, while in a boat. I don't even mind the squirmy worms. There have been days when I have even out-fished Carpenter. And soaking up a few sunny rays , always has it's benefits. But freezing in the cold , and handling maggots beyond the plastic bag they come in, is not worth the fish you catch. Or as in my situation, don't!

The majority of people out on the ice were men, older men, with skin thick and wrinkled like leather, from years of spending time outside. They sat on buckets,shooting the breeze about ice fishing, hunting, and of course dirty jokes about their wives. But the lure of catching their limit within 45 minutes, is probably more than some guys can handle. Or maybe it's the lure of being away from their wives, that makes them rise early and sit on the ice.

Even when we lived up North , and Carpenter went, I would not. I worked at the local drugstore in their hunting and fishing department. (in a small town like this one, it is important to be diverse)In the mornings after the local radio would announce the ice fishing forecast, there would be a rush of die hard ice fishermen lining up to buy the maggots, meal worms and krill that we sold. Add that to a ruby -eyed wiggler, and a glow hook, and they were set.

There was one old fellow that came in, faithfully every couple of days, to replenish his bait for he went fishing every day. He had a bushy beard, kind eyes, and he walked with a gnarled old cane that he had made himself. He would flirt with me shamelessly, as he would pick through and find the "perfect" bag of maggots. One morning, on February 14, no less, He came in with a gift for me. A sentimental Valentines card, and his morning catch wrapped in a big black garbage bag. I gracefully accepted this fishy Valentines gift, trying desperately not to choke on the pungent fishy smell, as my coworkers laughed. Oh if I could have re gifted it!

Now you know why I am not a fan of ice fishing. Last weekend was a weak moment for me. I told Carpenter he'd better take a picture, because it would be a long time before I did this again, and as for giving in this time- He owes me.

Why I hate fortune cookies.

We went away over the weekend with the intent to visit my father in law, Papa Gruff. Carpenter wanted to do some ice fishing. So we loaded up the truck last Thursday and travelled North to a small Community, where the only pool is located in a hotel, but they have 2 ice rinks, the downtown core is exactly one block long, the mayor has held her position for over twenty years, and the "Fancy"restaurant is aptly named the Hoof and Harness.
The town is small and charming, like other small towns of its size in North America, I suppose, and we have a special attachment to it, Carpenter and I lived there when we were first married, and his Father is still there.
We booked a hotel room, so that it would seem more like a holiday, and when we arrived we had dinner with Papa Gruff and his significant other Ann. Carpenter's brother Dwayne, joined us with his daughter Soapy, and significant other Tweena. Papa Gruff was not into the Hoof and Harness, said it was a little too fancy for his taste, so we went over to the Blue Sky diner that specialized in a Chinese food buffet.
The food was quite tasty, and conversation flowed easily, Jules and Gem insisted Papa Gruff sit next to them and for the most part they enjoyed Soapy's company too. Our waitress, of course knew all of our names and passed around a mini album of her newest grand-baby. While we talked, she brought out the fortune cookies, and we began reading them. As most of them were "lame", as Papa Gruff put it, Carpenter suggested that we add the phrase "In Bed" to the end of the statement. As the cookies came to me, I cracked mine open, and read it. Ann and Tweena asked what mine was. I showed them, for I could not bring myself to read it out loud, and they agreed with me that it was one that should be kept silent.
Then Carpenter arrived back at the table Ann said, " You should ask your wife what her fortune is!" , She began to laugh. NOW I don't know Ann all that well, for we have only seen her a few times. She is new to the family, but we shared a bottle of wine and I must say, I'm beginning to like her, although at that moment, I was more shocked than anything.
I handed the fortune to Carpenter, and unfolding it, he read out loud, and loud enough for everyone to hear(okay, I walked right into that one I know) :
" You must accept the next proposition you hear - in bed!"
Everyone began roaring with laughter, even the tables next to us had a few chuckles, I'm sure my face was as read as my sweater. Mortified as I was, it was pretty funny. Of all the fortune cookies on the table I had to pick up that one. At least it made for interesting conversation over our Bailey's and Coffee.
So if you happen to travel northward, end up stopping at a little diner called the Blue Sky, and overhear a conversation regarding a silly fortune cookie, you'll know it was some gossip about me.

An Early Valentines.

Carpenter has been working late this week. He hasn't done that in a while. And I am reminded why I hate it when he does. He misses dinner with us,there is no reading to the girls before bed, and we don't talk much. Instead, when he finally arrives, he showers, microwaves his dinner, and gives goodnight kisses to the girls who have long been asleep. He watches the last 10 minutes of a late show with me before falling asleep in his chair.
He has in the past, during weeks like these, brought me a bouquet of flowers. He will unceremoniously toss them on to the counter and say, "These are for you." I love receiving flowers. It reminds me that even though he stopped to pick up the required gallon of milk, he paused long enough to think of me.
When he arrived home the other night and said "I have something for you. " I was certain that it would be flowers. After all, it has been a while since he has brought me any, and, Valentines Day is just around the corner. But as I came close, I noticed he held something small in his hand, "I won something today." He said.
Now, I admit, for twenty seconds, I hoped, prayed, and believed he had won the lottery. All our financial woes and worries were over. But that would have required buying a ticket.

Instead he handed me a CD. The CD is called "From the Heart" which features several artists including Michael Bule. Time to dust off my dance shoes I think. Perhaps a little Rumba, with a little candlelight, and a sprinkling of some marriage enhancing products, (Thanks Ferf!) The makings of a perfect Valentines date. Definitely.
Then he handed me a movie pass for two,"Now we can have a date night",he said. It was for Eddie Murphy's new Movie: NORBIT. I have to admit that I've been a fan of Eddie Murphy since the classic Beverly Hills Cop movies among others. A perfect comedy to end a hard week. And the very fact that we would be childless for an evening, perfect.

As I thought about these date scenarios, a smile curled at my lips. "Wait," I said, "How did you win these?"
"I called in on the radio, I actually got through!"
"Seriously?" I couldn't believe it. Carpenter almost never listens to this station, much less ever participates in silly contests. Once again, he was thinking of me during his busy day.
Turns out, it was a contest to name a cell phone ring tone. The song: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.
I still can't believe that either.

Hurry up, and wait.

I join a group of women once a week. We have coffee , share what's happening in our lives, and what's happening in school. We are part of a group called "Mother's who Care", the mandate is to pray for our school once a week and demonstrate love through encouragement to those in the school. We sit and read some scripture from the Bible, and then we talk about it. We focus on praying for our school, the kids in it, their teachers , caregivers and volunteers that make it the great learning environment that it is. Today, we read Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, take heart and wait for the LORD.

I am not a philosophical or profound writer, for that you'll have to check out the Maru. But for some reason, no doubt Divine, that verse has stuck with me all day, today.

Carpenter and I , as some of you are aware, have recently gone through some financial difficulties, which were unfortunately compounded with a bit of family drama. Now as that clears, a new disappointment is on the rise. I hate that. I hate disappointment. I admit that my walk through life has been about choosing the lesser of two disappointments sometimes, because I base my decisions on what will make me happy, or at least try to. It was one of those decisions, that I had made a few years ago that is now coming back to "bite me" as it were. Back then it was an obviously easy decision, and maybe not the right one, and one I should have consulted God a little more on. I know that I need to spend more time on my knees, with open ears towards God, and make choices based upon His word and what He wants. After all, I am a Child of God.

But that doesn't stop me from being disappointed with my current situation . I feel like Jules in the back seat of the truck as she says the proverbial, " Are we there yet? Is the ride over?" Over and over. Even though there is a part of me that wants to reach for the camo duck tape under the seat, I always say "Soon baby girl, soon." I know that all she wants is the ride to Grandma's to end. She wants to play with her cousins and have candy. Eventually, the driveway to Grandma's appears and the truck pulls to a stop. All I want, is to know what happens, after the disappointment, and I don't want to wait.

The anticipation, in the mean time, can be too much, especially when disappointment preceded it. I can't flip to the next chapter, to read how it all ends, skip the disappointment, and find the silver lining on the other side. I have to survive the disappointment, to find the silver lining, so God, I'm waiting.