Hunting stories

It wasn't as bad as I thought.
Here I was at a wonderful gathering...friends, purses, jewelry, wine. Nice conversation when my phone rings. I had to answer it as it was home and I had not told them where I would be going. It was my husband telling me that they were back from hunting. He took the boys out with him. Rusty and Todd built this wonderful stand on KT's property that they call the Condo or something like that. All of the kids can fit it in and should be able to move their squirrely butts around a little without spooking the deer. So he relays to me they saw 3 doe and a buck. Jordan got it all on tape. Todd didn't shoot because the video recorder went dead. But they were excited for me to get home so I could watch this tape.
Hmmmm...how long do I stay? I discuss this with fellow shoe/accessory hunting fanatics all with fantastic ideas. "Take a picture of each one of these purses and discuss in detail the color, lines, beauty before you watch the deer video." Many similar responses ensued.
Here I was...you can liken parties like I was at to a deer farm. Basically you pay good money to have it all right there- all you have to do is decide which you are going to shoot. And, yes, the bigger the rack, the more expensive the trip package. As usual, the money spent is well worth it because you never leave empty handed. Well, unless you don't spend (and sit down before you read this) I walked out emptied handed (except for a wonderful banana torte that Kelly made!) A co-hunter good friend found a wonderful accessory for the shoe hunt party...could Kathy be the 2 time winner???
I went home. Andrew immediately went into story mode. It was adorable because he has 2 - Todd and Jordan who are master story tellers so he does a fabulous job at uniquely reciting his version. Jordan made great attempts at trying to remain silent. Andrew even threw in directions from were the deer had entered. He was confused as to why Dad had not shot. The video was short but very neat to see. Jordan was the camera man and did a nice job of catching them as they came into view.
Story telling brought us to the prior night. The boys and I were driving home when we caught a glimpse of 2 deer walking through some tall grass. I shined (boy, am I a sucker) the headlights on the deer. I certainly got sight of the first one- a nice buck, thick rack, maybe 8...by the time Jordan got home it was at least a 10 with 4 dropped tines and though we didn't see the first one that was a buck too with an equally big rack! Jordan's adrenaline takes over his vision.
The night is late and we head off to bed but I can't close my eyes until I let Todd tell me his version (I mean by that, he won't let me close my eyes....) So he endearingly tells the story of how excited his boys were to see this in front of their eyes. And I know deep down, they are hooked, all of them. Hunting is officially in their blood for good.
And thank God it is for me too! I spent a joyous night with true friends at the Osthoff this past weekend. What an amazing time! And, you know, there was not one shoe purchased- we did not even see a shoe (but a lot of accessories). Just proves Ladies, that it is not about the kill (and I do not recommend Elkhart Lake if you are shoe hunting). It's really about the relationships you build, the stories you can tell, and the lessons that you learn.
Get out there and hunt!
Invitations are coming but this is open to all. And not to forget about the season and fast forward to the party but you would not believe some of the raffle prizes this year- you are not going to want to miss this!
Hugs,
Paula