The "last" hunt

[Sasquatch]

As John and I got settled in the two-man ladder stand near an old stock pond, It was impossible to ignore the fact that there wasn't quite as much room as there used to be. I scrunched as far to the left as I could, to afford the young hunter that was now taller than me some more space.

What a perfect metaphor for parenthood, I thought. We start out looming over our children, larger than life, before gradually shrinking-- slowly fading away until we are but a memory brought to mind by the wind of a crisp fall day.

Sometimes it is hard to reconcile the child you knew with the man he is becoming. The little chatterbox that wanted to keep every acorn he found vs. the quiet, almost sedate young adult beside you now. The boy you physically lifted over a deep part of the creek on the morning of his first youth hunt vs. the comparative giant that now takes up half the ladder stand.

We must make the most of the time we are given, for inevitably one day the leaves of September will blow across a woods that bears only one set of tracks where once there were two. Yet we may hope that soon after, God willing, there will be two again--one large and one small, meandering through the Hoosier woods.



I managed to catch a little of the hunt on tape. Enjoy

[Woody Williams]

Great video, but even a greater write up. Yes, we are passing the torch to our youngsters who will someday pass it on to their youngsters.

Thank you…

[whitetaildave24]

Congrats to the both of you. Hopefully there many more hunts together in the future.

[pigeonflier]

Awesome. Thanks for the read!!!

[deadeer]

I am in your shoes not far behind.

The part that is so neat to see, is what quality time and parenting do for a youngster.

I see some of my coworkers kids and they are completely different than our son. Zero manners, respect, common sense, foul mouth's, etc. I will hate to see where life takes most of them. Hopefully some grow out of it.

In the meantime, we will enjoy the fruits of our labor.

[marshallco]

I noticed that exact same thing this past weekend, that my 17 year old daughter took up way more room in the double than even last year. Maybe it could’ve been me too, I know I’ve added a few pounds. We both recognized this was her last youth hunt, me with “how did this happen” going through my head, with her asking “I want to use my bow this year”.. She is my oldest, and I dread the day when my youngest sits there with me on the last youth hunt. You are right Sas, to treasure the time we have with them, make the best impression we can, and thank God for them.

[Sasquatch]

Sept 27, 2022 22:26:05 GMT -5 deadeer said:

I am in your shoes not far behind.

The part that is so neat to see, is what quality time and parenting do for a youngster.

I see some of my coworkers kids and they are completely different than our son. Zero manners, respect, common sense, foul mouth's, etc. I will hate to see where life takes most of them. Hopefully some grow out of it.

In the meantime, we will enjoy the fruits of our labor.

You touch upon the scariest part of parenthood. What if the apple fell very far from the tree? ( perhaps not a bad thing in my case, lol)

John has worked at a local store for about a year.

I was at a gas pump recently when the owner of the store spotted me and came over. He expounded on John being a good worker who never slacks off, flexible, good attitude, etc. Just gushed about him. My mind wandered to his disdain for the hamper, picking up after himself, etc. I guess they might absorb more than we realize.

[Ahawkeye]

You could be a writer Sas.

[Sasquatch]

Sept 28, 2022 4:02:19 GMT -5 Ahawkeye said:

You could be a writer Sas.

Thank you.