Over the summer I traveled to Louisiana for a few weeks to see family. I shared some of our adventures already here, here and here. One of the things I really wanted to do while we were there was to take my kids crabbing. I have fond memories crabbing as a kid and thought they would love it as well. The way we crabbed was, I’m sure, the poor man’s way of doing it. Get some sting, tie it around a chicken neck and throw it in the water. And then wait. Once the string gets taut you know there’s a crab trying to make off with your chicken neck. So, with one hand you gently pull the string up while in the other hand hold the net ready to scoop up the crab as soon as he comes into view. Pull the sting up too fast and the crab scuttles off. It’s all very exciting for a child because it takes finesse and patience. Cue my impatient children. I won’t bore you with the details but basically the experience that I was so excited to share with them ended rather anticlimactically. Had I taken them individually I think it would have worked out well but the incessant arguing, whining and ignoring instructions killed the moment. Ah, well. Just like crabbing, you win some, you lose some on this crazy train called “parent hood”.