When we have lived a certain way for a lifetime we can easily come to assume that the rest of the population must know what it is like to be us. Once in a while it occurs to me that to be a, "fishing family," is actually a foreign concept to many people, even people right here in my home state of Maine. So, sometimes, I take a step back to see through the challenges of this lifestyle and give thanks for the beauty of it that I might be taking for granted. I was welcomed into a fishing family as a baby. I was raised as a fisherman's daughter and granddaughter. I was on boats before I could walk and worked as a stern girl for my grandfather long before most kids even know what work is. The ocean, for me, has been a best friend for my lifetime. It is dependable despite it's unpredictability.
So, I suppose I was destined to be a fisherman's wife. Fishing is a lifestyle not simply an occupation. A good fisherman thinks of fishing most hours of the day. We all know what they think of the rest of the time (ahem, that is how I have five kids). There are hours at sea, hours mending gear, hours of boat maintenance, hours traveling to get supplies, hours spent on the phone with lobster dealers, hours spent lining up help, hours lost in thought planning out the shifting of gear to be ahead of the lobsters or whatever catch you seek. A good fisherman has the ocean in his veins. This is not a job that someone can suddenly decide to try out and expect to be good at. This is a lifetime commitment that starts during formative years.
To be a fisherman's wife is......not for anyone less than strong. Whether you have a full time job, work from home, stay home with kids or any combination thereof....... excuse my expletives but I was raised with and by dirty fisherman......you must have a bigger set of balls than most men. You will spend many hours alone, lonely, and worried. You most likely will be the home Captain because your fisherman will be, well, fishing. Your life will be unpredictably weather dependant, and so too will be your income. No matter whether your fisherman is an inshore, offshore, or ground fisherman you will be inclined to worry. There will be hours or even days without contact and safety is always an issue.
I digress from the point, beauty is abundant in this lifestyle. The obvious being your level of involvement with the ocean. A true blessing, for me, is to now live with the sight, smell and sound of the ocean out almost every window. The proximity to the beach is the hot fudge on the sundae. This week, in particular though, I found true blessing in the pure deliciousness of the freshest raw scallop you could get without diving on it yourself. Although we are not a scalloping family, we are blessed to have friends who are, and this week we got to enjoy some of their bounty. We have feasted on raw scallops, seared scallops and scallops wrapped in bacon, all week long....
I would like to point out that, every single time, you sit and enjoy a bite of seafood, stop and think. I would dare bet that someone put their life at risk to harvest that meal for you. While they were out at sea chasing that catch their wife, mother, sister, daughter, etc. was home keeping the family rolling and most likely wondering when, and praying for, the safe return of their fisherman or fisherwoman.
Blessings to you.
Thanks for reading,
Island Momma