Livin' the Country Life

As most of you know I am not a country girl, but for some reason I always look forward to going to my husbands family reunion over Memorial Day weekend. It is so peaceful and laid back that I tend to overlook the one thing that scares me every year. My husband's cousin Gary's attempt to make me a fisherman. This year was the end of him trying. I think that he now knows that I am not cut out for it, poor guy. I need to set the scene for those of you not from Oklahoma (or some that are). Freedom is a town of less than 300 people that is about 25 minutes away from a city. When I say city, I mean a town of approximately 5,000. Gary is quite the character. He is good as gold and ornery as they come. That is why I like him! Anyway, I remember the first time I was in Freedom, and the first time we met, I don't think he quite knew what to do with me. I remember asking him what would happen if someone has a heart attack and he said, "Pray they can hold on until we can get them to the ER" - again 25 minutes way.... I am sure he got a kick out of the pure panic in my face. Ok- so, I went last year and had a small panic attack. He jokes that he could feel my breath on his neck the entire time because I would not leave his side. I remember when it was all over, thanking God that I was still alive. Why did I go again this year? I am like that kid that puts their hand on the hot stove and the mother tells them not to do it again or it will really hurt, and they have to try one more time just to make sure.... stupid... So, we head out on our fishing excursion. This year, I did not bring clothes because I knew I wouldn't go so I had to borrow everything except for jeans:

As you can see, my husband's hat was about 10 sizes too big, but I was not about to go without one. Ticks. So we head out. The whole time going up and down huge hills on a gravel road at 60 miles per hour, knuckles clinched. We went to the first farm pond, and shockingly, it was not that bad. They pulled the truck right up to the bank so all I had to do was get out - check for snakes- and cast away! Unfortunately, there was so much moss, we could not fish there. I should have known that it was too good to be true. As we load back up and go to the next pond about 15 minutes away I saw 2 rattlesnakes on the road. Sure, they were dead, but they were still rattlesnakes. (I think I forgot to mention about 20 miles south of where we were, they hold a rattlesnake hunt, which is one of the largest in the US... I checked...)

So we get to where we are going and I notice there is no gate that we have to open to drive through. We are just on the side of the road with a barbwire fence. Hmm... I am thinking... Maybe he wants to check on something, but oh no... I was wrong. That is where we were fishing. I looked at them like they had lost their minds. The grass was knee high, and I had to crawl over a barb wire fence??? I sat on the edge of the seat in the truck as they waited for me to get out. My husband was being nice trying to coach me out and Gary was threatening that he was going to just get me out himself if I didn't move soon. After I began to cry, I took my feet and somehow got out. Then, I decided to crawl over the fence (since my inseam is 36, I have the legs to do it), well I forgot that it was going down hill, so I tore the inner thigh of my jeans and cut my thigh. It felt like the blood was gushing, and I knew that I was going to have to get a tetanus shot. (Oh- FYI...after we got home, I realized that it did not even break the skin). During all of this my husband's *#%*&*$% hat kept falling down so I was panicked that I was going to not be able to see that snake underneath where I was about to step. Once they were both over the fence I cannot even tell you what happened... it was a blur... but somehow I made it down to the bank. I took a picture from where I stood, back to where the truck was, because I knew my family would never believe me...

Once we began fishing, I was in a nightmare. Every 2 seconds, I knew I heard a rattle, or saw a water moccasin, or a tick, or a bee, the list goes on and on... I was M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. I stood there by myself and looked across the pond at my husband who was waving thinking, I hate your guts for making me get out of that truck. Look... He is just smiling from ear to ear. After about 15 minutes I was about to lose it and signaled for him to come over and stand with me. He did. I
think that was about the time he thought Satan took over my body. I was yelling, crying, hyperventilating, I think my head spun around and did a 180, I am not sure. He decided to tell Gary that it was time that we left. Shortly after, we got back to the cabin, stripped down and checked for ticks. As he was about to get into the shower, he said, "Presh, I am really ready for you to get off of the birth control pills...they are really messing with you."

After we showered and changed clothes, I was calm. Everyone asked me how it went, and I think once I said, "I had to climb over barb wire" they knew this would be the last year of my pond fishing. Even poor Gary has decided to give up. My husband's uncle Corby told me that he will have to take me out on his boat, and I agreed to that. It is not the fishing I mind, it is not being able to stand or sit somewhere where I feel safe. I am miserable and I make everyone else around me just as miserable too. This experience though, has made everyone realize that my place is in the cabin! As you can see from this picture, I had thoroughly calmed down once I was on safe grounds.

It really is so beautiful there. I will be ready for next year, just without the fishing. I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! ~Amy