One of the greatest times of my life was when me and my papaw would go fishin'. We'd talk the whole time about how he grew up in the mountains when he was my age and the the stories his papaw would tell him. One of my greatest memories was when he took me to the river to go fishin'. I was really down because I didn't win a relay race at school. I had practiced so hard for it, but, I just wasn't fast enough.
Papaw was tying a lure onto his fishing line and he said to me, "You know, darlin', life's a lot like fishin'." I remember looking up at him, wondering what he meant and asked him, "How come, Papaw?"
I remember he always loved when I asked questions. Papaw smiled at me and said, "Well, sometimes you gotta wait patiently for the fish to bite, just like we're sittin' here waitin' for a nibble. And when you do finally catch somethin', it feels mighty good, don't it?" I nodded, understanding dawning on me. "Yeah, it does!"
"But remember, sweetheart," Papaw continued, his voice gentle but firm, "not every day's gonna be full of fish. There'll be days when you come back empty-handed, and that's okay. What matters is that you keep tryin', keep casting your line out there into the world."
Looking out over the creek with the water rushing over the big rocks and said, "I get it, Papaw. Just like in life, we gotta keep tryin' even when things don't go our way." Papaw nodded, a proud smile spreading across his face. "That's right, darlin'. You're learnin' fast."
And as we sat there, just Papaw and me, I knew that his words would stay with me forever, guiding me through the ups and downs of life's journey. I'm grown now and he's no longer here, but, when I'm feeling down I can close my eyes and we're right there at the river bank fishin'.