The Days Between: For the Best Fishermom I Know

There were days in between.

There were days days between the day when I uttered my first word--"Bird"--and the day when she and I found the mouth of the Elwah and saw a great blue heron much larger than the smaller version of myself.

There were days between the day she got me dressed and ready for my first day of kindergarten  and the day she tried to give me some final pointers before I left home for college.

There were days between all those days when I went from being a boy to becoming a man.

She gave all she had to give to me. How much I'll never really know.

There were days in between and those were the ones that mattered. All she did was help me grow, grow, grow.

There were days between the day when she pulled the hook out of the first fish I ever caught and the day when I caught my first lunker.

There were days in between the day when she put a band-aid on my first scrape and the day when she pulled a hook embedded in my neck by the wind and my poor casting skills.

There were days in between the day when she caught her first steelhead and the day when we first cast our lines together in the waters of Alaska.

There were days in between when she taught me all about fishing, which is essentially life, an eternal quest in nature for something greater than  ourselves, for finding illumination in God's light, for a search for answers in deep, dark holes and the joy of coming out enlightened or just the joy in the search. She was there during the days in between all of those answers, which were just more questions. But her example was what guided me.

She was there during all the days in between. And that's what mattered.

There were days in between the day when she brought me into this world and the day I realized that she is the best fishermom I know.

There were days in between when all she did was help me grow, grow grow. I took my first steps thanks to her. My fishermom watched over me while I learned the music and the lyrics to the song. I've seen many worlds since then. I've seen many worlds since when I first left home. But I always love coming home to my fishermom.