Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved going up north. Me and my dad would go up almost every weekend. Since we live in the land of 10,000 lakes, we have many different places or spots we could choose to go fishing. Where we go up north it has many more lakes than we have here in Cannon Falls. I love seeing a lake just about everywhere you turn. Lakes offer things such as fishing, tubing, swimming, skiing, and much more. My favorite is fishing.  Just a few reasons are it gives you time to relax, it’s a good time to spend with people close to you and, best of all, frying up fish.

As time goes on it feels like I get to go up north less and less. Having four sisters with all of us being in sports and my mom going back to school, it’s hard to find time. Just about every weekend we have a game or a tournament of some sort. As much as I love playing volleyball, there are days where I’d rather be up north than some tournament up in the cities. Whether you are at a game or a tournament, there is people everywhere screaming and noise is bouncing off the walls like crazy. At times when the gym is absolutely chaotic, that’s when I close my eyes and picture myself out on the lake. While my eyes are closed I see the sun reflecting of the water, making it appear as if it were a huge pool of glitter. I can hear the waves splashing up on the side of the boat and I think of about that feeling of reeling in that big catch. Over the years fishing has created memories for me, ones I know I’ll never forget. A lot of those memories take place with my grandpa.

Two years ago, my grandpa passed away. When I heard the news about him passing away, it never really hit me that he was gone. It was after the funeral when it really hit me. It all happened at my grandpa’s house getting ready for the auction. We stayed up there for the weekend cleaning out all the sheds, barns, and the house. While cleaning out the house, we found a lot of old pictures. I loved looking back through moments in my grandpa’s life. Pictures are parts of you life you can look back at. Pictures are there for you to keep forever. Unlike all the things selling of fast at my grandpa’s auction, being taken away by others right in front of me, I know that pictures and memories I can keep forever. They are the only thing left and I hold them close. Life goes by so quick, so capture the moment.

In conclusion, my grandpa may be gone but at least I have pictures and memories. The photos of him in my house are more valuable to me and my family than anything else. Sometimes it’s just better to live in the moment but it’s also good to capture the moment as well. Everything is on our phone screens these days. Phones only last so long . A picture can last years longer than any phone. A picture really is worth a thousand words.