Strange Planning

Nathaniel, now 16, when he fit well in the
waders his 10-year-old brother now wears.

It's been an odd afternoon. Tomorrow I'm headed for the mountains for a few days of trout fishing and photo work with my 10-year-old son Asher, so today I've been doing a lot packing junk, changing out hooks, mending waders, charging camera batteries...

That sort of stuff isn't strange. I do it a lot. The strange part is that my 16-year-old son Nathaniel is working these days and won't be able to go with us. He helped me pick rods and baits this afternoon, but he can't go with us to fish.

I commonly travel without any of my children to fish, and I've done solo day trips to ponds and streams and such with all except Holly, who is only 2 years old. That on its own isn't odd. Nathaniel has taken trips with me since he was Asher's age or younger, though, and this is the first time I've taken one of his younger siblings on an overnight trip where he'd have been very welcome but couldn't go because of other real-life responsibilities.

The waders I mended today for Asher are ones that Nathaniel began wearing when he was about 9 years old. Now Nathaniel and I wear the same size of waders, but he needs bigger boots.

Not bad changes. The opportunity for Asher is great, and I'm excited about getting to spend time together in the creek and on the road. And I'm very thankful for Nathaniel's job and his responsibility level. Still a little sad for a dad, though, especially since I know it's not just one trip. Nathaniel's travel with me isn't finished by any means. We have some travels planned for the new year already, and I look forward to doing some things with Nathaniel and Asher. The main difference, I suppose, is that I can't necessarily just  gather junk and toss him in the car on a whim. That will more likely become Asher's role.

Just part of getting older, I guess.