Shazam! You decide to take a little break from the entries and almost a year goes by. Where did the time go? Let's see - rec basketball, work, spring Little League, Summer Ball, the Beach, work, Errol, biking, work, running and literally, just a little fishing. Time for fishing was so limited that I made the most of the time and enjoyed the moments. Rather than capture digital images of my fish porn, I decided to make note of the images the old fashioned way - memory.
I have found that I am less and less into all the technology that surrounds me. I'm to busy trying to remember where my cell phone is or if the camera battery is charged. These many months have allowed me time to just let things happen around me and to take from those experiences whatever may come.
While my fishing was limited, I had some GREAT nights on the Farmington River, alone, under the night sky, illuminated only when moving in the water or tying on a new fly. The sensory rush was amazing and night dry fly fishing become a new obsession - albeit on a time permitting basis.
Early in 2013, I as the recipient of my brother's old Bianchi bike and indoor stand. It was that gift that set me down a new path, one that I jumped into with the same enthusiasm with which I once tackled fishing. I was riding often, in the basement, during the winter months. Spring allowed me to begin to ride on the road and local bike trails. Riding had never been my thing however, now, I was seeing some serious benefits. I was losing weight and eating better. After riding for a bit, I decided to give running another chance. Running, always a favorite of mine, had become an issue due to some knee problems. Riding had strengthened my legs and the first runs were short and easy. I found that I could run pain-free. Fortunately, I was also motivated by a friend who had started running a few months earlier and was on his was to some serious weight lose.
Now, down 34 pounds, with several legitimate 5K road races and the ING Hartford Marathon relay under my belt, I am pounding the roads and trails often. You go through childhood with more energy than you know what to do with, not realizing that the cup actually has a limit. In my 20's I could still get away with not exercising and still " keep up ". After kids, I realized I was just fat and lazy. I had grown very comfortable. With no vices, other than food, I indulged. The weight certainly goes on easier than it comes off. However, I have found that I take a strange pleasure from a good sweat...a bike ride that leaves me winded or a run that ends with me doubled over in recovery.
These last months were a time to get off the sidelines and get back in the game. Fishing has been and will always be an escape that many cannot understand. However, I found that, after exploring many new and old habits alike, that I had been living in a shell of my 5wt, chest pack and waders.
So, while the posts will begin again, they will be much more varied in content. I thought about letting the Weary Angler go silently into that goodnight. Rather, I will keep it alive as was originally envisioned...a venue for all things life with some fishing thrown in for good measure.
Tightlines!
