It’s all about the Going, not the Getting
We’re closing in on the last day of youth season for Missouri. The cubs of the Pack Hunters have done tremendously well this year. 2 bucks and a large doe are down and the kids are all tagged out...except for my oldest son. We took a shot on a small doe first day of youth season, but with a forward-placed shot, we were never able to find a blood trail nor did we ever find a body. Danny and I searched for Robbie’s deer for 2.5 hours, zig zagging all through the woods where we last saw her. But unfortunately, we never found any sign of her. There was no blood at the shot or anywhere she ran up to and including the last point we saw her as she entered the tree line. The reality that my son’s first deer wouldn’t be recovered sank in and crushed me heavily that day. Though to my surprise and pride, the true nature and dedication of my son’s resolve was revealed after telling him I couldn’t find his prize. Upon hearing that his doe wouldn’t be recovered, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “guess we’ll be going back out tonight!” The boy truly is a hunter!
Here we are, in last last few hours of sunlight, last day of the youth season and the possibility that he might not notch a tag this year is a growing reality. I’m so happy that the difficulty he’s had this year to get a shot on a deer doesn’t really seem to bother him. He just gets ready to go out again, and again, and again. Between really rough weather conditions and several encounters with no possible shots for an amateur with a .243, it’s been a long, hard season for this little guy.
I really feel the pressure to get him on a deer. And although I know there’s only so much I can do and God is in control of the rest, I find myself frustrated every time I walk passed that untouched tag on the edge of the counter. It reminds me that I haven’t gotten it done yet and that he’s counting on me to have him sitting at the right place at the right time.
I’ve been through deer season pressure before. Many times before. So many seasons I’ve had an empty freezer and empty tags going into the last few days of the season. Some years I’ve filled tags in those last few days, other years, I haven’t filled tags but others have who’ve given us the meat. Bottom line: we’ve always had everything we needed. That’s the greatest lesson I’ve ever learned from the woods. God has always given me everything I needed, not always what I wanted. If it were the latter, I’d have a 300 pt buck on my wall every year!
This year I got a small doe, a nice buck, my wife took her first doe, and yet all I’m sitting here thinking about on this near close of season in the fading sunlight is, “I’ve got to get this kid a deer.”
We just spent this last Thursday counting our blessings as it was Thanksgiving. A day set aside to consider all God has done and how good He truly is to us. As I continue to count blessings here in this blind, it occurs to me that if Robbie finishes the 2020 season without tagging a deer, I’ve still bagged the prize of a lifetime this year! We’ve clocked over 35 hours sitting together in a deer blind this season. 35 hours. Almost an entire work week of just sitting in a deer blind with my son eating snacks, cutting up and huddling together under olive-drab, wool blankets to keep warm. How many people get to spend that much time with their child like that each year?
Danny asked me the other night if I was aware of and appreciated the amount of time we’ve shared together in the last month. Of course I am! When he asked me if he thought Robbie appreciated it, I told him he’s definitely enjoyed the time. He’s told me repeatedly how much fun he’s having, however I don’t think he’ll appreciate these days we’re having together until he’s in a deer blind with his own kid someday. I always loved being with my dad, hunting as a kid, but I had no idea how important those precious hours were until many years later holding Robbie in my arms for the first time. My Father knew those many deer seasons ago then what I know now: those days in the woods together are what life as a family is about. Connecting with each other out in God’s beautiful creation. Does Robbie know that right now he and I are living in the good ole days? Nope, but I do!
It is so important to not get distracted by the pressures we put on ourselves. Especially pressure on ourselves for things that are ultimately out of our control. If 2020 has taught us anything, it was that we got ourselves into a real hurry, and it took a global pandemic to force many of us to slow down and just spend some quality time with our kids. I know deer season will always be time set aside to spend time with my kids as long as they have the desire to sit in a deer blind with their dad. I’ll always cherish every second of it.
I’ve got to get back to watching for deer, in case God decides to put a shot opportunity in front of Robbie. But I’m going to rest a little easier knowing that Robbie’s tag might go unfilled this year, but I’ve already got my trophy: 35 hours alone with my son in the outdoors. I’m blessed!