While there is much we can teach our kids about hunting, fishing, conservation and the environment, more often than not they can teach us, too.
By Brian Lynn 6/10/2011
Children carry more than just our genetic code. They also bear our hopes, dreams and fears of providing a life saturated with happiness and fulfillment. For outdoorsmen, children also carry the future of our hunting heritage, and by imparting our knowledge and inundating them with positive experiences in the field, we hope that they find the same love and respect for nature that we feel...
Patience:Hunting, and fishing don't hold a candle to the patience you must have when dealing with a child on a day-to-day basis. In the field, under specific time and space constraints, that need for mental stamina magnifies tenfold.
Possibilities/Imagination:Nowhere do possibilities exist in such an endless supply as they do in the imagination of a child...
Possibilities and imagination abound in hunting and fishing. They are what drive us to climb into treestands, blinds and boats when freezing temperatures, impending weather and early morning darkness compel society's seemingly sane to stay in warm, comfortable beds...
Youthful optimism demands you dream, otherwise you might as well golf.
Ethics and safety:Once a child enters the picture, your life changes forever. Gone are the days of irresponsible bachelorhood: taking off on a moment's notice, skirting safety precautions and perhaps even pushing ethical boundaries. When adolescent eyes are watching, the mass of responsibility weighs heavier on the conscience and drives us to not only set a higher standard but also to see that we stick around to witness our offspring grow up.
The little things: If you've spent any time at all with a child, you know their attention to detail can astound even the most critical of adults. They don't view the world as a mosaic within the space-time continuum, rather their entire universe exists exactly where they're standing, at the precise moment they're standing there. From every rock in a pile to every leaf on a bush, the small things matter most to children and fill their lives with possibilities.
It's those little things: sunrises and sunsets, the aroma of a spring bloom or rutting elk in the fall, the view from your stand and the small experiences we share with campmates and hunting buddies that matter most. We often forget that it's not about filling a limit or dropping a trophy until we view the world alongside our children.
Appreciation:As the saying goes:"You don't know what you got until it's gone." Weekend hours spent in solitude or with close-knit friends afield are quickly replaced with sports, sleepovers and other social commitments that revolve around a child's schedule and developmental needs and not necessarily your own. That time lost afield can spur a great appreciation for not only those moments when you do get to reconnect with nature, but also those fleeting instances shared with an increasingly busy child. My friend, and new father, Mike De Hoog summed it very well:
"My baby daughter has reminded me how much I miss fishing as much as I used to go, yet I wouldn't trade the moments I've shared with her for anything. Although spontaneous trips are a thing of the past for quite awhile, I can't wait to get her out on the water for some dad/daughter time."
