The Best Place to Fight

Last summer I got my first fishing licence. I have fished before, and where I live, you can fish without a licence until you are 18. But, last summer was the first time I bothered getting one. It had been years since I had been out fishing, and I am totally a water baby, so I couldn't wait to get out.

If I am being totally honest though, the main reason I got one was for my boyfriend. He loves fishing, and wanted to take me. Had it not been for him, I probably wouldn't have gotten out.

So I bought the licence and it arrived in the mail with my Outdoors card a few weeks later, and we went fishing to a small lake near my boyfriend's home. All seemed well and good until we got out on the water.

We started to fight. Over every stupid little thing. And, soon this turned into a pattern every time we went out. By the end of the summer I was fed up and about ready to swear off fishing. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why we could get along fine when we were on land together for hours, but put us in a boat with some fishing rods and we are at each other's throats.

We are both stubborn to a fault, but I was so sick of fighting. And, as this summer approached the memories of fighting while fishing were still fresh in my mind. I was annoyed, but stubborn as ever, and I renewed my fishing licence. I decided we were not going to repeat history, however, and I became determined to be a perfect fishing companion, and not stir the waters, so to speak. I also became determined to figure out why we were fighting.

So I began to think...

When I get angry, annoyed or fed up everyone knows about it. Sometimes, I am ashamed to admit, it is because I throw a fit. But, usually it's because I walk away and throw myself a wee pity party alone somewhere. Pathetic, I know. I am terribly at actually dealing with the situation at hand, and speaking to whoever I am angry with about why I feel the way I do. And, my boyfriend is the same way.

This is the conclusion I drew about fighting and fishing: It is not that we cannot get along it is that when an issue arises we are so used to walking away from the problem that we don't know how to deal with it when we have to stay together. So, we fight and say mean things and get angry because we don't know what else to do.

Maybe fighting in a boat is actually the best place, because there is no escape. We have to sit there and talk it through. This summer is going to be a good one, fishing and all. We are going to learn how to deal with arguments and not walk away, and we are going to grow because of it.

Maybe you should try it too :)

Emily xo