I am blessed with 4 boys. Three of which are under 5 and the other is about to start driving. I also have a wonderful wife, who for the past year has been able to stay home with the kids while completing her Bachelors Degree.
Thankfully my job is not only rewarding, it's fairly flexible too. Most of my weekday consists of work 6-4 sometimes 6-5. Two nights a week my wife has school, so I'm on "Daddy Duty" until 7pm. Plus everything else that comes with having children, expecially small ones. Needless to say fishing after work is a rarity for me.
Saturdays are filled with family fun, "Honey Do" chores, or College Football this time of year. Anything that keeps us all together one day a week. So that leaves Sunday. On Sunday mornings my wife and children go to church, which frees me up until noon. I wonder if I'll regret writing that later? Oh well, moving on.
That is my "ME" time, my freedom from responsibility, if only for a few hours. My wife uses her church time for that, I prefer fishing. For several years I would feel guilty anytime I did something, anything for myself. I felt bad not using that time to spend with them. Slowly that guilt has faded, not because I don't care, but because my wonderful wife always encourages me to go.
Being a parent is hard work. It takes love, dedication, patience, resilience and sacrifice. In many ways you have to give up who you were, to be a better parent. However, you still need to take care of you. Everyone needs a way to relieve stress and just relax. Fishing does that for me like church does that for my wife.
It's a delicate balancing act between family and fishing, but I am able to have both. I also know what's more important, luckily I haven't had to choose.
D.S
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