At the Heart of it All

For me the most important thing is getting the kids outside.  Because of my job I see about 5000 kids a year from all over the state. Maybe it’s wrong in the eyes of some, but I can immediately tell which kids are “gamers” and which kids are “outside” kids. Listen, I use to play some video games with my son, so I’m not anti-gaming. I am however against using a game, or television as a constant “electric babysitter.”

I cherish the time I had with my older kids. Some of the most frustrating, and now funny memories I have are of my then teenage son texting his girlfriend while a giant buck walked past him. Then there is the one of my daughter, now in college, completely thinking she was Katniss from the Hunger Games crumpling leaves to see which way the wind was blowing. For the record, it was blowing a gale in our faces, really no need for the leaf trick.  There are the memories of my son hunting with a bunch of us Marines and knocking down a double on wood ducks while all of us “marksmen” whiffed. And when Emily put three rounds in the same hole on the range. They may have forgot those times, I didn’t. Those times are times that I can look back on and say, “I did that.” I taught my kids a skill that they can use for the rest of their life to provide or protect.

Now I understand that some people don’t even know which end of the gun the pointy end comes out of, that’s OK. Go for a hike, dust off those bikes, put a worm on a hook and find a puddle to drown it in.  You’ll be surprised what you learn, not just about the kids, but also about yourself.