Hi and welcome to my blog. I really think parents need to lighten up; I mean, if parenting was meant to be a serious endeavor they'd offer classes! Oh, wait....
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Big Hunt

     Last weekend was opening weekend in Missouri. Deer hunting season if you are just joining us. For those of you that have a problem with hunting, leave now and check back with us tomorrow. The Hubby and Grandpa took the boys out. Now this isn't their first hunting season but usually they just go "hiking" and the men have their rifles "just in case". This year the Hubby decided they were ready to actually go out and HUNT. Meaning that they boys were taken to the blind, instructed to be quiet and sit still and wait for something to cross in front of them. And guess what?

The Hubby got one!


      Now for those of you from non-hunting families it is not unusual, in our family, for a 4 year-old to sit in the blinds with an extremely lenient aunt, uncle, daddy or grandparent. In fact, it's kind of a rite of passage. The adult gets some bonding time with the kiddo and the child learns to talk in a whisper and sit still--as best they can and once in a very great while the kids will see various forms of wildlife and learn how to poop in the woods and which leaves are best to be used like toilet paper.
     This weekend the boys were split up; Grandpa took Porter and the Hubby took Logan, and plopped down in a blind. After several minutes they settled in and waited like pros! Porter and Grandpa saw a rafter (a flock of turkeys) of turkeys but no deer. But the Hubby and Logan, they were luckier. They had four deer walk right in front of them.
     I don't come from a family quite like my Hubby's. We have hunters in the family; we eat game occasionally but I was never taken hunting as a child. When the children were very small I spoke with the Hubby about how we should explain hunting to the children. I was concerned about scaring them. How would they react to the first dead deer they saw? Should the children be witness to field dressing the animal? We decided the worst thing we could do was over-react and over-protect.
     
    I had no questions about whether we should hunt.
  • Hunting provides food for our family.
  • Hunting keeps the population in check.
  • Hunting provides states with much needed tourist dollars.
  • Hunting is a family tradition that requires skill and patience.
     I am very impressed with the family's views on hunting. The Hubby's family stresses the need for hunter's safety courses. They stress clean shots so that the animal doesn't suffer. They make a point of following all the rules and regulations. They bring the children up from the beginning to have a healthy respect for the gun, the sport and the animal.
     I shouldn't have worried. Logan wasn't frightened by the shot being fired--and he remembered to cover his ears. The field dressing was "yucky". But overall, I don't know if I've ever seen my sons so animated as when they told me exactly how their "Daddy got a white-tail". They also told everyone at school too. Overall, it was a great first hunting experience. They'll go out again next weekend. Next weekend is about antlers. The Hubby will be much choosier about what he shoots, but my kids are ready. It'll be Myriam's turn to go hunting--the girls hunt in this family too. So I will worry again. Hopefully she will enjoy her time in the blind with Daddy; maybe she will see a turkey or even a deer. Maybe she will come home SO excited because she went huntin' with Daddy. 
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