Who Are You?

When we bring children into the world we are curious.

Who are these little people? What will they bring into the world with them? How will they evolve and change over the years? Beneath all these questions is another, will they be like me or my spouse? Will they develop a similar passion for the arts? Will they cheer for the Packers? How much of me or my husband will come through?

Our oldest loves the idea of hunting. He loves fishing. These two things do not, at least directly, come from either my husband or I.

I grew up a “townie” in a small village where kids would take the week of hunting season off and go to some cabin or camp in the woods, so I was familiar.

My husband grew up a city boy in Madison, WI. He knew boats and fishing well but never developed an interest and nowhere near any sort of passion for all the blood and guts that seem to go hand in hand with hunting and fishing.

Yet, here is our oldest, casting away at the end of a dock at our friend’s cabin. Our friend patiently teaching him how to release the mouth of the fish from the hook and toss the small ones back in.

There is our middle, creating his own form of fishing where he pulled fish after fish out and quickly grasped how to release the sunnies back to the lake.

A few years back the oldest caught a Walleye that I sautéed and we ate.

On the drive to the cabin the eldest asked when he’d get to learn how to hunt and he started making a bow while he was there.

We didn’t teach him any of this. We didn’t leave a hunting channel on accidentally or surround ourselves with fishing magazines.

My husband and I play music, we write, I love to bake. We read. We love to socialize and laugh with friends. We play board games.

And yet, there, in our small crew of children, a love of hunting and fishing turned on.

I can still ask, who will these boys turn out to be because I won’t let them commit to anything just yet. This is their time to try, test, explore, and ask questions.

These boys, 9, 7, and 4 have already shown me, they are every bit their own person, and I am eager to learn more.