She thinks we’re just fishing

 She thinks we’re just fishing -Riley Chambers 8-29-2026

The ground was still a little wet from the light shower the night before when Sydnie squeezed her dad’s hand, her sandals soaking up dew from the tall grass and squeaking with every step toward the lake. She carried her favorite yellow fishing pole with both hands, like a knight guarding her treasure, while her father slung a pair of worn fishing rods over his shoulder.

"Think we'll catch anything today, Daddy?" she asked, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

"We might, Baby Girl." He smiled, kneeling down to help her set up her pole. "But if we don’t, we will just have to have a good time anyway."

Once her dad got everything settled, he put a worm on her hook simply because she said it was yucky, then spent the next ten minutes untangling her line after her first cast.

Standing on their favorite dock beside the marina, Sydnie reared her arm back and released her line like a cannonball, hoping to reach the deeper water. Only, she released the button just a little too soon, hurling her hook and bobber straight into the canopy of a nearby willow tree.

It was a little upsetting, but they figured it out and didn’t let it put a dark cloud over their day.

“Okay, baby girl,” her daddy said. “Let’s try that again. But this time, wait until your hand is right here.” He motioned toward the front of her head.

“Okay, Daddy,” she replied with a grin. “We want to catch fish, not leaves.”

She pushed the button once more, pulled her arm back, and released the line right where her daddy had shown her, sending it soaring out into the lake.

“I DID IT, DADDY!” she exclaimed with excitement. “It’s where the big ones are!”

“Yes, it is, baby girl,” her daddy said. “Now, we have to do the hard part. Wait.”

She didn’t have to wait long. Almost as soon as the line left the reel and hit the water, her bobber was already bouncing.