Went fishing this evening. A gorgeous early fall evening that would have felt perfect for any activity but was particularly pleasant for fishing - clear sky, little to no breeze, no bugs, warm sunshine that gave way to a slight chill as darkness crept across the water. Conditions so perfect it really didn't matter if any fish were caught (they were). Hadn't been on the water for nearly a month...if another night like this one rolls around it will be much less than a month until I'm out again.
A few blissful hours on the lake couldn't have been attached to a less blissful day. Today I returned to the world of full-time employment with an appearance at Day One of the back-to-school workdays for teachers. Nothing bad happened - besides my alarm clock working perfectly - but it became one of those days that required me to fulfill multiple roles with little to no time for costume changes or line prep in between. In the span of less than 12 hours I was a:
- student riding a school bus to a neighboring town to attend a speaking presentation.
- teacher studying changes in this year's instructional coaching procedures.
- dad checking in on his children via text and greeting them in person briefly at lunchtime.
- coworker collaborating with teammates during inservice activities.
- coach leading a junior high volleyball practice.
- fishing guide who once again lived up to his motto: "all I do is put people on fish".
I'm not complaining, mind you - I accept days like this one as the natural order of being an educator with children of his own and friends who need fishing guidance. However, I couldn't help but consider the fishes I was chasing tonight and the roles they play every day. Mr. Bluegill wakes up and is a fish for a while until he decides to be a fish for part of the day, after which he sticks to routine and finishes his day as. a. fish. Deer, birds, platypuses....sure, they do different things as they live but are the creatures of the natural world ever anything but what they are? I can't picture a bear leaving the berry bushes and shuffling off to the PTO meeting.
Again, there is no intent to complain here. If anything I am full of wonderment at we humans' ability to seamlessly shift from one piece of our day to the next when those pieces, many times, don't exactly fit together. The question borne of my wonderment is this: Who does life better, the creatures or the humans? Would we be better off - happier, healthier, wiser - if we had one unchanging role from one day to the next? Or is it the diversity of our days that defines us and actually keep us awake and alive longer than most one-act animals? I have no answers, only questions, and all of this role playing has worn me down at the end of this varied day. I attended an enlightening presentation, reaped the rewards of having great children, got reacquainted with teammates, guided young volleyballers, and led a successful fishing adventure. In short, I lived.
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