Kent Casson's A View from the Cab: Making time for a family respite
I feel like putting up a “gone fishing” sign up on the door, not knowing when I may return home.
Much of my childhood was spent at our little family pond. My mom, dad, brother and I would often cookout, swim and fish there on Sundays. It was the ultimate family fun day — complete with boat rides, leisurely strolls and delicious food.
I recall one of the years the Chicago Bulls were in the NBA finals coming home exhausted from our day at the pond to watch basketball on TV. In fact, I fell asleep on the living room floor, which was unusual for a child of my age as I had grown out of naps. Apparently, I played too hard and was worn out after all of the fun.
Our larger extended Casson family would even gather at the pond for quality family time. All of us Casson cousins were similar ages growing up so we would have fun swimming while the adults watched from the shore. Grandpa even took us all out there one year to play on the ice in the winter.
Rebecca and I recreated these special memories for our own children the other day, during Memorial Day weekend. We packed up the pickup truck with tackle boxes, chairs, fishing poles and food and headed north a few miles to the pond. I didn’t realize so much stuff could go in the bed of my truck! Oldest daughter Kenadee thought we were packing to go on a big vacation. At least it appeared that way.
We experienced nature like never before as we saw a snake upon arrival. Kenadee even caught her first fish, which was a large catfish Rebecca helped her reel in. This thing was a monster and she was pretty proud of it. The kids even caught a glimpse of a large raccoon out in the field about dusk. It appeared to be a coyote at first glance.
Following our delicious dinner of grilled pork chops, we made a small fire for s’mores. We all couldn’t resist the sweet touch of marshmallows stacked with Hershey’s chocolate and graham crackers. This really hit the spot after a busy day.
A beautiful sunset could be seen over the horizon to the west as we packed up and headed home for more of our Saturday evening.
My goal is to make more of these family pond memories in the near future. We kept saying we would go last year but never seemed to find the time with baseball games, 4-H projects, fairs and other activities. Once in a while, we all have to make time for these special moments in life.
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This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Kent Casson's A View from the Cab: Making time for a family respite
