Here are some pictures of the grandsons. One is of my son, Brian who took the boys swimming. Look who is fishing instead: (Trevor) of course. Another is of Dylan fishing from the dock at his great uncle Ron's. Another is of Brian and Brad taking the boys out in the small boat we have on our lake.
Just the other day I was looking through the many pictures that I have accumulated over the years. One thing stands out: I have taken many pictures of my sons when they were growing up and of my grandkids later on. I don’t believe that there have been many things more rewarding to me than watching my grandchildren grow up with an appreciation of the outdoors.
A few years ago, when I was still allowed to write for the Albert Lea Tribune, I and my wife had returned from church to find a message on the answering machine. The message was from a well-known area businessman and outdoorsman who had called to tell me how much he enjoyed my articles. He said that I had written about teaching our youth, not only about getting them involved in the outdoors, but also about respecting the environment. This topic was very important to him. He said he looked forward to reading my columns each week. I am not trying to toot my own horn but, instead, emphasizing the importance of what he was saying about the teaching of our
youth and the value of our resources, which is dear to my heart.
Both of my sons, Brian and Brad, were taught, not only to fish, but also to appreciate the outdoors, and eventually share that with their children. There is no greater feeling as a parent or in this case as a grandparent than being able to teach kids how to do it the right way.
Over the years I have also enjoyed fishing with all of my grandsons and my two granddaughters. I have to admit that I spent much more time with the grandsons, one reason being that the girls came along later. Emma and Ava have done most of their fishing with Brad, their dad. Whenever Brad wants to go fishing, he asks if they want to go. Ava will go, but she, being the youngest, isn’t as serious about it as Emma, who always wants to fish with her dad.
All four of my grandsons are outdoors kids. Trevor leads the pack and is obsessed with hunting and fishing. Dylan loves fishing, and Taylor and Grant both like fishing and hunting waterfowl, but are not as dedicated to those sports as their older brother, Trevor. They all like to hike and kayak, while Grant is big into rock climbing.
In looking back to those years, I still get a good feeling while looking at some of the pictures from our days when we had a camper at Best Point in Waterville. A few years later, we bought our little chunk of land on a small lake in Northern Minnesota.
This was always my dream and I am happy to have been able to share it with my family. There are so many great memories of spending time there with my sons and grandsons, and watching them grow up in what seems like no time. All of my grandsons are adults now and have their own lives, but they still give Grandpa and Grandma hugs whenever they see us and they all respect the environment and enjoy the outdoors.
I like to think that what I and my sons have shown them about the outdoors has had a part of making them the fine young men that they are today.
Until next time: Whenever I look back at the past years, my chest swells up with pride for what they have become. I do have two questions, where did the time go and why so fast?
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