My daughter keeps asking why our backyard smells so stinky. Her little tykes slide is facing the area her dad dumped the remaining fish guts last week. It's like that rotten smell of produce except with a sulfuric ash aftertaste. The salt water and grime of squishy insides - things i'm hoping my one year old son doesn't see or he will eat it....Yep. He's a real boy, apparently. He likes dirt. Being Barefoot. throwing rocks. Grinding teeth on rocks to my dismay. Checks out his member with smiles. And when Daddy brings home a cooler of fish fresh caught that day, with ice brimming to the top, Kana'i gets sooo excited that he leans over, diving head first into the cooler, saying one of the only words he can, "Fflllliiiisshh!"

We eat fish pretty regularly, except Makani is the only one who really knows how to scale them, clean them, slice them without damaging the parts we wanna eat ... He eats everything though - sucks a fried head or tail till the bones are left. He knows which fish tastes better or which texture can uphold what cooking style. My favorite is the Oio (bonefish) made into fried patty cakes that he mixes with vegetables and spices. Our kids can be pretty picky but they will always that dish😊. Of course, I don't know if they realize the same fish in the cooler is what's on their plate. Elia is three and huge fan of Nemo so, I'm sure there will be a day we have drama about eating fish...I love it though. Besides the stinky backyard (God Makani, did you really have to dump it so close to the kids play area?), I love how fresh we receive it, the taste, how healthy it is, and how natural it is for Makani to obtain.

Of course, Makani so confindently wanted to take baby Elia out on a trolling boat at 6 months old, out in the deep waters. Ahhh!!! Mommy alert was firing! He said it would be a "couple hours" but if you really know fisherman tales - it's always exaggerated - more like 6 hours. And even two hours or taking an infant out on a boat in sea at all is damn nuts. But that's just it. To be as hard core of a waterman as Makani and these guys he hangs with are, you gotta be a little nuts...coming home from a long day working to not even shower, pack a bag of shrimp for bait, restring a reel that took a couple hours to clean, grab Toby's (reef shoes), polarized brown shades (to see through the wading water), excited to stand still in cold ocean with all that equipment strapped on your back for hours in the wind - not even guaranteed a catch - means you must really have a love for this.He doesn't go as much as he used to since babies were born - I mean hell, I need help with the kids being so little since we don't have immediate family here and he works 7 days outta 7 self employed. But it defiantly is fun seeing the kids all excited when he does come back with a salty truck and a white cooler filled with a catch. Best part is Makani stays happy and calmed down being alone in the sea.

Sometimes we go with him for shore fishing. We got the little one strapped to my back and the other wearing Toby's too. Elia can hold a pole pretty well now - since she could just barely talk, she would say, " Daddy and Elia go fishing." Kana'i, the baby, charges into the ocean wide-eyed, as soon as he sees it. He has no fear about sea creatures - hands straight to hold the slimy molusk snail, shrimp, fish whatever he can. Must be in the blood somewhat I guess. Fishermen have a kind of personality, not everyone can handle that type of hard labor, patient waiting, rocking waters, sunburn, winds, sharks and beasts within inches next to them ... The dirty. Oh yes, the ability to stomach blood and guts daily, mold and grime, excrement, rotten, and not mention dirty language. They are tough and warm hearted. It's a dying trade amount the younger generations.

Of course, Makani has his own style - that means life with him is moldy smelling board shorts left in bathroom, bedroom, living room, garage and kitchen as he just strips whenever he comes in wherever that may be. Great food. A lot of salt in the pantry. Like do we need a fifth container of Hawaiian salt, really? And yes, I bought you more dried Opi (shrimp) to cook with the Oio can you stop asking.

Next to Chicks and Cars, Coolers are the hottest ticket. He's streaming sale ads for COOLER DEALS on the regular. Like, I avoid sending him to Sams Club for household items because he will always forget the list in his hand once he sees a cooler. Could be worse addictions. 😉 So I've just accepted that my kids and backyard will be smelling like moldy sea and fish guts. I've gotten used to them tripping over fishing poles in the office, climbing coolers like stairs, and spending hours excited over the "ugly fat snake Daddy took out of the shell". I know now that "you wanna go to the beach, babe?" Really means, " let's go to the shoreline where there's not much sand for the kids and no soft shorebreak for them to swim safely in, wade in cold water with rashguards and shorts so you can't get a tan, snacking on bait of bread and dried shrimp while Dad gets a fish," ... And I'll say?

YES!

Life with a Fisherman

Mahalo