Fishing with Daddy

Happy Tasty Trouter Day! What? You didn’t celebrate Tasty Trouter Day this year? Oh yea, that’s right, it’s a holiday that Andrea and I made up for only our family (and whoever has the privilege of being with us on June 23rd). You see, early in our marriage, we decided that we would spend part of our anniversary each year thinking back over the previous year, remembering the good times, the hard times, and the lessons we learned. Then, following the example of ancient Israel (ie. Passover, Purim, etc.), we decided to choose some of these special events and make them into official Williamson holidays, that we may never forget the GREAT things God has done in our history! Well, MOST of our holidays are memories of great events, others are just fond memories that we enjoy refreshing each year. Such is the case with Tasty Trouter Day. For 8 years ago last Sunday, Andrea and I were on our honeymoon on a secluded lake up in Alaska. We had gone fishing several days with no luck and once again this particular evening, we had given up hope of a fish dinner. Rowing back to our cabin, I dropped in a line to troll behind the boat. Minutes later, we were introduced to the most beautiful rainbow trout we have ever seen – Trouter. Not only was he beautiful, but he was mighty tasty too – hence the beginning of our annual celebration.

And so, each year, as tasty Trouter Day approaches, we plan ahead so as to find the most beautiful fish possible to adorn our plates in Trouter’s memory. This year was the first year that Micah got to join in on the fishing adventure! And believe me, nice fish at this time of year seem to be quite hard to catch. Over the course of several outings, we tried out many locations, returning home skunked. Finally, one afternoon, we caught the fish pictured below. Unfortunately, he was too small to keep and so we threw him back.

Look at those beauties down in there!

 

The English spelling isn't always the best...

 One experienced ‘fishman’ promised us a strong catch if we would only come back the next day. And so we did, only to be disappointed again. Again another promise brought us back a third time where we finally caught four tilapia whoppers, perfect for our family celebration! Micah carried them home with great excitement and we promptly popped them into the freezer to await the holiday. Apparently, Micah had gone fishing with his grandpa a few times over the past year and they didn’t catch anything – “The fish were hiding,” he would say as a single tear would trickle down his cheek. Ok, maybe no tear, but he has since learned that fishing with Daddy yields much better results! Hee hee, sorry Papa!

  

And yes, June 23 arrived along with all of Micah’s pent up excitement for eating the fish that we had caught. Slathered with butter, stuffed with garlic, and wrapped in foil, our tasty Tilapia soon filled our house with the lovely aroma of baking fish! Micah’s eyes got really big seeing his huge, steaming fish slide onto his plate, tail and head hanging off on either end.

Not quite sure where to start, he ripped off the head and proceeded to eat out the eyeball. Mmmmm, he obviously knows how to celebrate in style!

Happy Tasty Trouter Day 2013! You’re welcome to celebrate with us next year. As for our next holiday – it’s this Friday, June 28, called Beautiful Feet – a memory of a dear friend in Texas who once commissioned us in incredibly moving prayer, “Lord bless these beautiful feet which bring the Good News of salvation…”