There we were, fishing on a tranquil lake near a private lake house. The fish were biting and my kids, especially my two boys who LOVE to fish, were enjoying every moment of it.
We were all having a great time until…. We weren’t.
One of my nephews toddled up the path from the lake to the house and began screaming uncontrollably.
Naturally, everyone who was fishing down at the lake came running up the same path to see what the commotion was all about.
That was a mistake.
Within minutes, mass chaos ensued.
Kids, parents and grandparents were all screaming. My nephew had been stung by a wasp, and when the rest of the family came running up the same path my nephew had taken, we had officially stirred up (and ticked off) an entire nest of wasps.
Many of us were getting stung multiple times and we were all confused about what was happening, because it was happening so fast. It was like a scene from a movie, it sort of felt surreal.
Instinct kicked in and we started scooping up kids and rushing everyone into the lake house. (I’m a Protective Mama Bear, after all. Take this quiz to find out what type of parent you are!)
Tears, ice packs, ibuprofen and Benadryl followed.
(As for the wasp nest, a brave grandpa and a can of Raid took it out.)
I had been stung in several places, one of them unspeakable. (My email Insiders got the full scoop on that… sign up here so you don’t ever miss my best stories! Lol!)
When the dust settled, we weren’t sure whether to cry or laugh.
We had never been through anything quite like that before!
(At the time I’m writing this, my left foot is still super swollen and every time I look down at it, I just have to laugh. What a crazy experience!?)
I didn’t feel too certain about much in that moment, but one thing I was sure of…. I just knew my kids would be terrified from that experience and they would never set foot down the path to the lake again, no matter how much they loved fishing.
And I was right….
For about 10 minutes.
After that, my two boys decided that whatever obstacle or fear life threw at them… they weren’t going to let it cover their passion.
I glanced out the lake house window to see them blazing a new trail down to the lake.
They were still going to chase their passion, undeterred. They simply created an alternative route to get there.
My boys fished for the next 4.5 hours. They caught a whole stringer of keepers.
What’s the current stinger preventing you from achieving what you want?
I’ll never forget the way my boys made a new path, refusing to let fear stop them from chasing their passion. They reminded me that everything is “figureoutable.” Sometimes you just need to create an alternative way to get there.
Those two little guys believe that when life throws you a stinger, you should ice that sucker, then figure out a way to get back to fishing. And I would have to agree that they’ve got it right.
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