A Joyful Journey ~ Memory Making 101

February 27th, 2007

This story is shared with Shehunts readers courtesy of Tammy Koenig of Leading Ladies Outdoors.  

In this fast paced world of tournaments, club meetings and other extracurricular activities we can barely find the time to say a quick hello or goodbye to the ones we hold most dear. Children get caught up in the busyness of life just as quickly as we do and before you know it they are grown and gone. With one look back we are able to see that we have been robbed of precious “alone” time with our kids and they are left to repeat the cycle with their own children.

In early childhood most of us had very little entertainment to keep us busy during our summer vacations or during the school year. We had to create our own fun or follow around an adult long enough until they gave us a job to do. Even school days were a bit on the dull drum side with the majority of us returning home after school to some sort of chore list. Anyone remember those days?

Especially ringing true here in the largely agricultural Midwest, Wisconsin was home of the never ending farm chore list. Each day harbored far more things to accomplish than hours available. We may not have been very happy with the work list but it kept us active, out of trouble and in a constant state of interaction with family, building memories daily.

Are those memory-making days long gone? Not as long as we have the power as parents to choose to make memories happen. One of the best ways to do this is to take a child hunting. It is precious “individual” time that is hard to come by in today’s world. Being away from the television, computer and the telephone can do wonders for any child. Whether or not you actually score a trophy while a field is immaterial. The value of this time is solely in the relationship.

My daughter, Brittany has been a hunting buddy of mine since she was about three. I remember sitting on a ridge top hunting turkeys when I looked over to see her standing on her head with her butt in the air and red curls tossed about in the leaves. I didn’t seriously think I would get anything that morning but the memory I walked away with has made me smile a thousand times.

As Brittany grew a little older she carried her little plastic bow to this same ridge. Pushing up her little camo hat, she saw a squirrel 100 yards away in the valley. “Can I hit it from here?” she loudly asked. “Only one way to find out”, I said. She drew back, aimed carefully and with a hollow TWANG! her little arrow arched high and rattled through the trees stopping sadly short of its destination. The squirrel went about his business uninterrupted without even knowing he had just helped create a wonderful memory. Later, on this same ridge at the age of twelve she would release an arrow from her Mathews Mustang to harvest her first deer with a perfect shot.

It is always exciting to fill a tag to build a great memory, it is certainly not essential. Recently, Brit was drawn for a youth elk hunt in Colorado. We spent 16 hours a day for six days either on horse back or pounding the Flat Top wilderness area in search of an elk. During that entire trip we saw two elk, a spike and a cow for a combined total of 90 seconds. She never complained once. We slept under the pines when we got tired, ate backpack goodies when we were hungry, laughed until we cried and stood silent in awe of God’s incredible creation. It was the very definition of a memorable hunt. One neither one of us will ever forget.

In August my husband will walk my oldest daughter, Casey down the aisle and give her hand away in marriage. She won’t be remembering the trips she made to the mall, club meetings or basketball games but she will remember the times her dad took her squirrel hunting and went out of his way to make time for her and her alone. That is where the real memories are. You see, spending time hunting with a child is less about the actual hunt and more about just being together.

The old adage is really true. The joy is in the journey. There are a specified number of sunsets to see before our days here are done. Take the time to enjoy those remaining with someone you love. Instead of committing to some busy function you won’t even remember next month won’t you consider spending some alone time on a hunting trip with someone close to you? Become a memory maker today. Start planning now. You will never regret you did in fact, you will wish you had done it even more.

CAPTION: Memories in the making. Tammy’s daughter, Brittany poses with her mount, Ratchet during an elk hunt in Colorado.

Entry Filed under: The Everyday Family Life of Women who Hunt