Boy will be boys, Candy purse, Waffles

Friday we went fishing again with the three boys. We will only have the three of them for another couple of days and Mama and I wanted to take them fishing several times while we had the chance. It was more fun this time since two worked to keep the ducks at bay and one fished in the little area where we were actually catching fish. The geese and ducks put up quite a fight, but the boys triumphed – at least until we ran out of bread to feed them.
Most of my south coast friends would consider these bait fish but with the right equipment – light weight tackle- the boys thought they were catching some whoppers. They each caught a couple and again they each wanted to touch each fish caught, compare size and color and watch the release. But that soon became old hat. One wanted to feed the fish and while it was in my hand he actually tried stuffing a piece of bread in the fish’s mouth. Now, I realize these poor things are holding their breath as long as I have them out of the water so I did not want to take too long, but I did not want to rush either.
The next catch one of the boys asked if he could touch the fish’s eyes. I said okay but drew the fish away when he admitted he really wanted to poke the eye out. He did manage to scrape away on scale from the fish’s side before I got it released, but no further damage was done through the day.
As the two hours progressed, Mama caught a perch that looked like it was going to break the pole she was using. It turned out to be huge for a bluegill, bigger than my hand and over an inch and one half inch thick. We guessed it to weigh about one pound. I would love to have taken it home to eat, but I did not think it was a good idea for the boys to see me gut and filet a fish since I would not let them poke the eyes out of an earlier catch.
My wife keeps mints and gum in a special little purse within her purse. Our kids have always known this. Now it appears to be common knowledge at the church and every evening there are several little ones that seek her out. Two of them cannot even talk, they just point to her purse and nod as she talks to them. It bothers my wife a little that she is known for her candy rather than her love for the child – and she truly does love them. I try to assure her that they will come to know her love for them, but for right now she just needs to remember to keep her candy stash full at all times.
I got the honor of making waffles yesterday. It was about 94 degrees outside but that is where I had to use the waffle iron since we did not want to set off the fire alarm in the church. It was the only snack we had prepared for the little ones we have in our primary church and Mama was not going to let them go without a snack – nor was I. Needless to say, I worked up quite a sweat in the half hour I was out there, but the kids appreciated it.
I needed a good sweat on Father’s Day.