I am thankful for fly fishing.

This means I am thankful to people; not just thankful with some nebulous sentiment. That isn’t true thankfulness. True thankfulness has  a person as the object. True thankfulness can be given and received.

I am thankful to Alan, who introduced me to the sport. As a teenager, he needed to learn how to use a fly rod to fish on a stream with special regulations. He brought me along and here I am over 20 years later.

I am thankful to Jeff. We drove all over creation (Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, at least) together looking for one more trout stream and one more quirky little rural town in which to spend time.

I am thankful to Rod and Mike. They ran the camp that taught me that fly fishing was about more than fly fishing. I learned history, conservation, and the value of seeing the big picture.

I am thankful to my parents. In different ways, they facilitated my burgeoning fascination with getting outside and going to far off places with little else of interest aside from trout.

I am thankful to Amanda. She doesn’t allow me to fish. She encourages me to fish, because she knows it is important. And she knew that over 20 years ago when I asked her to marry me.

I am thankful to my boys. They’re better than fly fishing. But they  like it, too.

I am thankful to many, many more people: too many to include in this quick holiday post.

Most of all, I’m thankful to the God who made the the seas, and the fish that swim in them. Creator and Savior, He is the one to whom thankfulness is truly due.

Happy Thanksgiving from Casting Across.