My Hemingway Moment

I have a huge appreciation for slowing things down and enjoying the simplicity of a good meal with good people (especially now that I’m being afforded that luxury more and more in our new life)…this was our Christmas in Bimini. It was very special to have Mary with us for Christmas b/c of course it’s always nice to be with family for the holidays…makes you not feel so far away. As many of you probably know, the next day marked a big milestone for me…my 35th birthday! And as many of you probably also know, I am one of those few people who loves my birthday…lol. The day started with David preparing a lovely breakfast of all of my faves. We had no real plans for the rest of the day, so when the guys a few boats over from us in the marina came over at 8:30 to invite us out for a fishing trip, we could hardly refuse. The truth is that I didn’t actually want to go fishing…especially not on a full fledged fishing boat. I just had visions of blood and guts that I was not ready for. Being that it was my birthday I was offered full veto power, but I knew that this was something high on Mary’s list of todos especially given that she was in the middle of reading Islands in the Stream. Also, if one was to pay to go out on one of these fishing expeditions it would cost hundreds of dollars per person – so I figured how could we pass up this opportunity. Thank god, b/c it ended up being a blast. We had met this group of fishermen the day that we arrived in Bimini and they were a great bunch of salty guys (yes, I now know someone named Big Dog!!). We went on their high powered fishing boat a few miles out and 1100 feet deep to do some deep sea fishing. They had some very fancy equipment and there were two guys who basically do all the work once the fish has been pulled up (no blood and guts, just a gaff and a cooler). We all were very lucky that day, catching several fish each. It was quite exhilarating pulling the fish up (not a ton of muscle required, just a strong thumb pressing on the electric reel button). Well, b/c it was my birthday I believe that the universe smiled on me and I caught the biggest fish of the day…the biggest fish that even these guys had caught in a while. It was a huge 75 lb Amberjack!!! So that my Hemingway moment. It was quite an overwhelming and powerful moment. We have yet to go fishing again but maybe I have it in my after all.