What could possibly make a guy like me miss over a week of bow hunting in October? You might think work would do that, which would be perfectly reasonable. Maybe a family vacation would be another thought. For me however, work is part time now and rarely interferes with hunting. And family vacations just don’t happen during hunting season. So the answer, as I imagine it would be for almost anyone, can be found in just two words.
New grandchild. That says it all.
The story begins in Chicago where my son Ben and his wife Lauren live. They were blessed with their first child on October 16, a baby girl named Lillian, with Grandma and Grandpa Judd arriving shortly thereafter. Lillian had a rough entry into the world, so we’re happy to report that when we headed for home the following Saturday, she was looking fine and reaching for life. No matter the sacrifice, the birth of our son’s daughter is something neither of us would have missed — no matter what. Even if it meant not being in a deer stand in October, which is a huge change in perspective for this ridge runner. People who know me well can attest to that.
But as the years move along, I’ve learned that life is full of choices, and the choices we make determine our course. Whatever we spend time doing will be the product of who we are. That’s the reality. If it’s prioritizing work or family, you must determine what your priorities are to live a balanced life. If you have a full-time job, the amount of time you can give to hunting might be limited. To hunt enough to be happy, you must determine what is important. For me, as a young man, that was a difficult pill to swallow because any time I missed being in the woods just made me miserable. In truth, however, I was making myself miserable because my priorities were not always where they should have been.
I remember a year when I had to sit out the opening week of a spring turkey hunting season because I needed to spend time with my family while concentrating on work at the same time. I recall waking up before dawn every day during that week, stepping outside, checking the temperature, wind, and barometric pressure, just to see if a springtime cold front was coming in that would cause gobblers to go tight-lipped. Or I’d check to see if it was a perfect day when you knew gobblers would be screaming their heads off, just begging to mix it up with you.
Every morning I thought to myself, ‘Great, I’m missing it. Everything is perfect, and I’m sitting here at the house, or in my office.’ The day is ruined, and everyone else’s day around me was ruined as well. All because I decided that something other than hunting was the priority that week. My heart was in the woods “chasing gobblers” instead of living with my decision. Simply put, I decided to make myself miserable. Was that fair to my family? Was that fair to my co-workers? Heck, was it fair to me? I simply should have lived with that decision instead of overcomplicating the situation and making it worse. But over the years I’ve tried to change my priorities, ever so slightly, in hopes of not making those same mistakes again.
Other things I did between the ages of 35 and 55 that may sound familiar to you:
1. At times, I let hunting get in the way of holidays, which never should have happened. Back then, I participated in pretty much all of the hunting seasons.
2. At times, my hunting life coincided with church, which also never should have happened.
3. Then there was my work as an insurance agent. That never would have lasted almost 40 years without colleagues who supported my hunting life as much as they could.
What I didn’t understand back then is there are “seasons” in our lives as hunters that we must accept. Those seasons span from our teens through adulthood. We learn as we travel through these seasons, continually building foundations that will serve us well as we move into the next one. And the next, and the next. Then comes the final season, when you find yourself as a mentor, giving back while promoting a culture you’ve come to love and respect. There’s no better feeling than watching others. I would think that holds true especially for your grandchildren, who hopefully excel while learning something they’ve been taught by you.
I’m slowly beginning to understand this grandparent thing and how my priorities must, very slowly, change as I move through this season of life. Even though sometimes it’s easier said than done, which I say as I’m already wondering if I’ll be home for opening day of shotgun deer season. That’s because we’re spending Thanksgiving in Chicago with Ben, Lauren, Lillian, and the entire New England Judd family connection in tow.
Joe Judd is a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman. He is an outdoor writer, seminar speaker, consultant and active member of the New England Outdoor Writers Assoc. Joe is also a member of the Quaker Boy Game Calls, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Pro-Staff.