My wife and I took our younger son to the doctor today for his every-six-months checkup on his ticker. When Drew was born, his aortic valve was defective and he had to have a valvioplasty done when he was two weeks old. This procedure saved his life, but damaged his aortic valve to the point where everyone knew it would have to be replaced some day.......we just didn't know when.

Well, after his cardiologist looked at today's results, he said "when" is going to be soon. This time, they have to crack him open and do a major surgical repair of his valve. Maybe in the next couple months, but we won't know until he meets with the surgical team from Children's Hospital too see what they think.

Anyway......I thought I'd do something fun with Drew to take his mind off something I'm sure scares him......it scares me. And you know what seemed the perfect thing to do? Fishing. It's a way to connect with somebody close to you that you don't get from a ball game or trip to the arcade. There's just something different about fishing......maybe not for everyone, but it is for me, and Drew shows all the signs of becoming a hopeless fish chaser himself.

I don't know where I was going with this. I just think sometimes we don't realize what fishing does for us. It helps me to cope with things that are beyond my control. I hope it will help Drew cope with the burden he has to shoulder.

Thanks for listening.