Day 48 - Silent Supporter

I would hope that everyone of us has that person in our lives that quietly rallies the troops to our cause. Someone who can take on your adversary when you are too weak, too exhausted, or too tired. The silent supporter who sees only the good in your soul, when you can't even see it yourself.

Thursday night I went and had dinner with my wife. Thursdays are long days for her as she usually puts in a full day's worth of work at the church, then proceeds to participate in choir and bell choir. When it is all said and done, she goes into work around 8:30 - 9:00 AM and doesn't come home until 8:30 - 9:00 PM. Thursday we managed to sneak away for an hour or so to have dinner.

On the way home, I told her that I wanted to stop by the fly shop to pick up some fly hooks (I've been wanting to tie up that pattern I talked about on Friday (still haven't determined a winner on that one yet)). Like any good spouse she asked how much was I planning on spending. My first response was $10, I later changed it to under $20.

Now before moving on, I have to admit that in the past few weeks I've spent a fair amount of money on fly fishing. That wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for three things: 1) I'm still unemployed (despite actively seeking work). 2) Unemployment ran out last week. 3) My wife has been working extremely hard, and I'm talking about going fishing.

Having built a framework, I'd like to move on. Needless to say, the conversation wasn't going too well for me. I offered a few lame excuses about something (they were lame, so I can't really recall). Right as I was dropping her off to go back to work, she conceded her position and let me purchase the items.

In spite of all that has happened in the last year (losing my job, finishing grad school, travelling to Africa for grad school, packing and moving halfway across the country, purchasing a home...) my wife is still looking out for my well being. She knows that fly fishing soothes my soul and encourages me to go out onto the stream on a semi-regular basis.

While this blog entry doesn't appear to have anything to do with fly fishing, it has everything to do with fly fishing for me. You see my wife is my silent supporter. She is the one that asks if I've written anything on the blog yet for the day. She is the one that brags to her friends and congregation members about my passion for fly fishing. She is the one that looks over my shoulder as I tie a #24 emerger and says that it looks good.

And so, I end today's entries with two words. And these words are directed towards my wife: Thank You.