Heart jumps for joy with grand fishing companion

Published 10:12 am Sunday, June 23, 2013

It’s funny how granddaughters manage to worm their way into your soul.

Not saying that grandsons don’t get in there too, or that there’s more love for one over the other. It’s just that, with granddaughters, I think it’s a different feeling.

From the moment we (granddads) lay eyes on them, we know something different has entered our lives. Once we take hold of their tiny hands, we never seem to want to let go. In fact, more often than not, we put ourselves on perpetual lookout and find ourselves giving them all of the time they want whenever they want it.

Grandsons get our love and attention too, but we understand those packages of testosterone-fueled chromosomes a bit better. They’re just short-stacked versions of ourselves who play hard, get banged up testing the limits of their abilities, and snort and shout while marking their territories. Thus, when they’re out crashing into things, we view it as pretty much normal rather than something to be constantly attended to.

For their part, though, granddaughters seem to understand this and somewhat instinctively know that the big guy with rumpled clothes and rough hands who sometimes smells of sweat, motor oil, and lawn clippings is there to bring the world to its knees for them.

He’s there to explain mysteries. To keep lookout. To carry them on shoulders. To buy them treats when mom and dad aren’t around.

And that’s the way it should be.

We’re lucky just now. Our daughter and granddaughter are spending a few weeks with us. My daughter’s family is in the midst of another move — this time to Destin, Florida.

The family originally went to Texas with the hopes of purchasing a restaurant they knew that was up for sale. For a variety of reasons, it didn’t work out and they started casting a wider net for the type of place they wanted to buy.

That place turned out to be in Florida, the sale went through, their home is on the market, the move is coming up, the man of the house needed to get things settled, and our daughter and granddaughter wanted some time to catch their breaths and asked if they could come visit.

Hmm? Let’s see. Would we like to have them here for a few weeks when there are fish to be caught, strawberries to be picked, zoos and aquariums to be visited, and having grandpa explain scientific principles like “where ‘dark’ goes when you turn on the light.”

(Hint: There’s a good reason for the space under sofas, beds, and large chairs and it has nothing to do with collecting dust.)

The mental debate lasted about a nanosecond and, so, they’re here and, for this pair of grandparents, all is right in the universe.

Just now, my wife is in the kitchen making brownies and banana bread which, as everyone knows, are important building blocks in the food pyramid of any eight-year-old. Too, I’ve laid in a supply of Double-Stuff Oreos in case of any emergencies.

Too, I’ve pulled down all of the fishing rods, checked all of the gear, and bought new lures — all to ensure that I can catch at least one fish when we head out to our secret fishing spot.

I’m not at all worried about my daughter or granddaughter catching fish because (as Wayne Kruse recently explained), the First Rule of Fishing is always in effect.

In part, it holds that, when fishing with daughters and granddaughters, just about all of the fish will be caught by them. It also notes that the largest fish will be caught by the youngest individual present. A corollary to this law is that somewhat exasperated grandfathers will spend most of the time drowning worms with little, if any, action at all. Further, any fish that accidentally impales itself on on a grandfather’s hook will be about the size of a sardine.

I’ve got to close this now as I’m being paged by my granddaughter. I believe that a promise I made regarding a trip to the local beach is about to be called due. Thank goodness there are several ice cream shops on the way home.

Just to restore all of the calories that’ll be expended at the beach, mind you.

It’s a health issue that we grandfathers constantly monitor.

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to: larrysim@comcast.net