The student becomes the teacher

Well after taking a long hiatus from writing I have finally decided to start sharing my life with everyone again. After losing Navarre in March I not only lost my desire to write I honestly couldn't bare clicking on the blog and being reminded by his pictures that he was no longer here.

The past 8 months have been very eventful and included two trips which I never dreamed I would ever take, daily life and everything in-between. It has been just over a year since my surgery and my back continues to heal and despite having occasional bad days I am grateful for how well I feel considering everything I went through. I have continued to dabble with photography and while I still have a lot to learn I have gotten better at taking pictures that capture life's moments to reflect on for eternity.

What finally bought me back here though is two of the loves of my life, hunting and my kids. Last year it pained me beyond words to miss hunting season especially because Alex was so excited to finally be able to participate as a licensed hunter. But as we all know life goes on and despite not being able to hunt with the help of my friends Jayson and Seth I was able to reduce my meat purchases last year with venison they both donated to my freezer.

After what seemed like an eternity November is finally here. I was able to get a few trips into the woods during archery season but what I was waiting for was the Youth Deer Season opener which happened to be this past Saturday. With much anticipation and very little sleep I woke the kids and watched them gear up in their camouflage long before the sun made its appearance to kiss our faces with warmth.

Upon arriving at the meadow Alex headed off for his first deer hunt with Seth and Ariel and I made our annual trek to the grand stand beneath the brightly shining full moon. It was a quite morning and despite the deer failing to show themselves the time spent nurturing the kids with the love of the woods was time time well spent.

Ariel and I participated in afternoon stand together and laughed when we spotted 8 deer in the middle of a moonlit field while driving home. I was able to share with her the story of my dad and I spending a week and who knows how much money on a hunting trip up north only to return and have Nonnie fill the freezer after hitting an 8 pointer with her car just a couple miles from our house the weekend we returned home.

Fast forward to this morning. I took a couple vacation days to relax in the woods with the kids in anticipation of them filling the freezer and taking the pressure off of me during the regular firearms season. We decided that Alex would take the morning stands and Ariel would take the afternoon stands - well with her being 16 its like morning stand for her as she is usually just rolling out of bed at the crack of noon!

Alex and I made our way into the woods and were settled into the buddy stand about thirty minutes before legal shooting time. It was an unusually quiet morning with nary a squirrel and very few birds other than the droves of geese flying overhead. With the ever present technology I took several "selfies" which kept our mind off of the cold nip in the air as we laughed at our expressions. I suggested that Alex settle in and if he wanted to take a nap as I wanted to sit for another hour or two. It was just after 08:00 when a sound captured my attention, I looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Moments later I heard leaves and caught movement in my peripheral vision.

I slowly garnered Alex's attention to alert him of the deer that was walking along side of us. He was amazed at how quickly the creature had materialized out of the thick brush. He raised his gun and when I stopped the deer by grunting the shot rang out. I watched the deer bound into the thicket and eventually up the hill. I was perplexed that it was able to bound off with such ease.

I focused my attention to Alex who was still shaking like the birch tree leaves which danced in the wind each time it gently blew. He was excited yet worried, his thoughts were focused on praying the deer didn't suffer. We gathered our emotions and I descended to the forest floor where I made my way to the point of aim. I could see where the deer jumped in the soft swampy ground but there was no signs of hair or blood. I slowly made my way through the brush were I saw the animal go able to see it's tracks in the wet leaves.  I carefully searched for any sign of a hit and while making my way over the hill Alex watched from the stand as the deer doubled back and ran towards the hardwoods.

I worried about how he was going to react to the news that he missed. I made my way back to where the deer was when he shot and after looking closely it became clear the he had shot just under the deer. Despite me telling him the disappointing news he still had a smile on his face. He unloaded the gun and lowered it down to the ground and climbed down to meet me. I assured him that there was no need to worry about the animal being injured and I showed him where his shot impacted the ground between the legs and just behind where the deer had been standing. We replayed the moment he took the shot and determined that despite me warning him not to he had picked his head up as he pulled the trigger - something I have done on more than one occasion!

We made our way out of the woods and once we were in the field we started talking again. It was during this walk back to the truck that my son taught me a lesson without even realizing he was doing so. I have been in his shoes, I have missed deer that seemed liked they were destined for my freezer but every time its happened to me I have been miserable filled with emotions of displeasure in myself and disappointment. Here walking next to me was a young man who was just grateful for a day spent with his dad and amazed that he even saw a deer. Yes he was bummed that he missed but kept exclaiming to me how exciting it was.

Wow, all I could think was Wow! I was transported back to the days as a kid when my dad would let me skip school to spend the first week of archery season in the tree with him. I realized that those mornings are part of who I am, part of the reason I love hunting and in essence the reason I want my kids to hunt with me. Sure the goal is to harvest a deer but enjoying the time together is what really matters. Thanks to my son's enthusiasm I found myself renewed with joy and the self made burden of pre-harvest pressure has been lifted.

So now here I am writing this reflecting on the past couple mornings realizing that what really mattered was the moments spent one on one with my kids, the time spent cuddling together to stay warm in the buddy stand, the silly jokes and never ending innuendos we fabricate out of nothing, the blessing of a front row seat watching nature prepare for winter and seeing animals behave in their natural habitat that so many people will never experience except though a television documentary.

Thank you Ariel for sharing my love of the hunt and if I have ever made a single moment of  our time spent in the woods un-enjoyable please accept my apology and call me out on it if I ever do!

Thank you Alexander for opening my eyes and renewing my spirit. Today was fun, it was exciting and thanks to your positive attitude I will cherish every moment of it forever. You see you taught me that I am never too old to learn something and today you proved that you are never too young to be the teacher. I look forward to the day when I get to watch you harvest your first deer, It may take some time or it may be tomorrow but whenever that day comes I will cherish the moment spent together and am thankful that you share my love of the woods and hunting as does your sister.

Ariel, I know that hunting was "our thing" to do together so I thank you for not discouraging your brother from participating. I have been blessed that you have helped fill the freezer the past couple years and will always smile and laugh thinking about our "Don't tell Mom" moments and conversations!

Here is to many more hunts, countless memories and positive lessons learned - no matter who is teaching and who is learning!