Cats and the Cradle
This week I let my son choose the materials to tie the fly. I wanted to get in the mood of snow and chose to tie a ice fishing jig. The occupation is coming along well. I am starting to enjoy the experience of getting a new piece of art into existence.
In terms of choosing my new occupation, the factors involved were pretty heavy on the love of fishing aspect. Fly fishing was a new hobby to me as of last year and the cost of buying flies started to add up. I have reflected on myself with this occupation by looking at how much my son enjoyed helping me. He could not stop talking about how much he wanted to go catch a fish with his new fly. this has made me realize that the art of fly tying has allowed me to become even closer with my son. I no longer have a self-centered focus on it, but rather a long-term outlook on the occupation when my son begins to fly fish with me. It is kind of like I went from saying "I have to tie a new fly because my grade depends on it" to now "This is a new aspect of me and it is enjoyable."
Glenn,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the fly tying is coming along nicely! I appreciate how you talked about what got you into fly tying and what has kept you in the occupation. It is interesting how our reasons for participating in an occupation change as we change. Do you think that if you never picked fly tying back up, that you and your son would have found another hobby?
I think that our hobby would currently be driving toy cars off ramps. Then it might change as we develop into his later years of childhood. Fly tying is one I am hoping will turn into a life long learning process for him. It is a skill that will be most helpful if he's in a survival situation.
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