Catfish

A few years back Peter and I were in Monterrey Mexico with my In-laws...we were staying in this really nice hotel in the center of the city. We had gotten in late the night before and after a few hours in the van with my in-laws and Peter's relatives from Germany/Canada, I was so ready to just take a shower and go to bed. I had not taken the time to look around the hotel at all. So the next morning when I got up and went down for breakfast I was amazed at the beautiful dinning room and stained glass dome ceiling, it was so beautiful.

Not to mention the international business men in suites eating breakfast and women with beautiful day suites and diamond rings...then there was me. I was in my TOURIST best. Old ratty jeans (comfy and ready to get dirty while shopping) and a T-shirt and sneakers. I looked the part of tourist but not like that of the clientele of this hotel. At that moment it hit me...I was like a Catfish in a Koi Pond. Boy did I not belong!!! As a matter of fact the sesame street song ran in my head..."one of these things, just doesn't belong here!" and boy was I right.

It was a nice trip and we went out shopping and had a great time...but that feeling kind of stuck with me the rest of the trip. And now even today. There are a lot of times that I feel like that Catfish in a Koi Pond feeling. Especially because I often feel like I don't fit into the type of place that I live. I live in the RGV (Rio Grand Valley, Texas) and there is a certain mentality here that really bothers me a lot of times...I was reading a post about a woman who had a koi pond and her son dumbed two catfish in there...she was trying to figure out a way to get them out because she was afraid that she would eat up her Koi. Someone posted back to her on how to get them out...but also mentioned that they were some of the toughest fish out there. Even when there is a lack of fish for them to eat, Catfish will feed on vegetation in order to survive, they also clean up the mess that some of the others leave behind and are fast and strong and are hard to catch.

I realized that my silly little saying..."Like a catfish in a Koi Pond" was more than just me feeling out of place for a little while, it was a perfect way to describe myself. I may not be as pretty or expensive (rich), but I am tough and fast and hard to catch up with and no matter where I am I will survive. I feel like I live in one of the craziest parts of the USA and some times living here makes me crazy but I know that I will survive...and maybe scare and few Koi along the way...lol

On the Catfish note, I saw a movie on HBO the other day called "Catfish"...it was crazy and I suggest you go check it out and watch it because it was extremely interesting. But I'm going to take a little liberties with the idea of the title. As referenced in the last part of the film, the husband to one of the main characters tells a story about cod being shipped live to Asia and how when they got there the flesh was mushy because there lack of activity so they added some Catfish to the tanks before leaving and when they got there the fish had to stay so active there flesh was not soft. Now for those of you who have seen the film...I'm not saying that I want to be like Angela (Wesselman) in the movie...far from it. But, I did like the idea that there are some in life that forget that life is to be lived and they need people like me, a catfish to keep them active and "nipping at there fins".

So I'm a self proclaimed Catfish and I'm going to try my darnedest to remind myself of that every time I get overwhelmed with life here in the Koi Pond. Because I have no problem being the one who keeps them on their toes!