Special Times

I'm not sure how this whole blog thing will go for me, but I've always talked about writing - especially about the amazing things that surround my life, whether it be my family, my friends, or my coworkers.  I have so many things I'd like to write about, but many things will have to wait while I reflect on the most recent occurrences.

The past 10 days have seen me hiking and driving throughout the Sumpter Unit in northeastern Oregon trying to fill my buck deer tag.  I was fortunate (for the second straight year) to fill my tag in the last hour on the last day of the hunt.  One would think that that was the highlight of the week and a half, but it was the night before the hunt that would be the true high point for me.

Two years ago, I made a decision to stop coaching football.  For the previous 22 years, football engulfed the fall season, whether I was playing or coaching.  Football gave me a lot as far as values, work ethic, and a way to reach young men, but I made a decision to commit more of my time to my family.  I guess when I made the decsion, I was anticipating spending more time with my immediate family - Jodi, Kaeli, Riley, and Makenzie (which I have done in spades thanks to soccer!)  I hadn't put much thought into what it would mean for time spent with my parents, who recently retired a short 8 hours away on the Oregon coast.  The ironic thing is that I thought that football would be the common thread with my dad, as he was the long-time coach and influence on me as a player and a coach.  It figures that the year he retired and returned to the mainland (8 years in Alaska), I decided I was finished with coaching.  We had joked (with a hint of sincerity) about coaching together somehow down the line, and the moment he is (sort of) capable, I get out! 

When I got out of coaching, my good friend Blake decided to introduce me to hunting.  Growing up in Montana, one would think that hunting would be a given for me, but, as usual, football was my fall.  After my first season, which is a story unto itself, I decided to try and bring my dad into the fold.  If we couldn't coach together, then by God, we were going to something together in the fall!  I wasn't really sure how my dad would do with the whole thing, as he is, in general, a pacifist and has never really been around guns and hunting.  Whether it was for my sake or his own unfulfilled curiosity, he joined our party and was going hunting!

Blake and I spent a fair amount of time scouting out an area for the hunt, and we were determined to get my dad and Blake's brother, Pat, their first deer.  Little did we know that the actual hunting would be secondary to the experience that took place while we weren't hunting.  It is customary for us to spend the night before opening day camped out near our hunting area, and Blake, my dad, and I went out early to set up camp and await the arrival of Blake's brother later in the evening.  I guess it is primarily a guy thing, although I know quite a few women who enjoy and appreciate the experience of a simple camp out, but there is nothing like sitting around a fire, eating a grilled burger, and sipping on a world class beer (thank you Shawn Kelso).  A lot of peole consider camping to be dirty and perhaps rustic, and while it probably is those things, it is also an opportunity to commune without all the bustle of a life centered around dishes, laundry, chores, and homework. 

After we set up our tents, got the fire going, and prepped our dinner and beverages, we spent the next three to four hours around that same fire discussing life.  It seems a silly thing to say - "discussing life" - but it's exactly what we did.  We didn't discuss politics or world views, but we discussed the everyday things that affect our lives and how we handle them.  It isn't every day that one gets to sit with a best friend and a dad to share experiences this way.  My dad had a permanent smile on his face as he drank his beer and smoked his cigars in the clear, star-filled night.  Many of the topics of discussion will stay only with us, but I guess that is also the purpose - to open up with those you trust and relish in the fact that everyone deals with some of the same issues that plague our thoughts at times. 

While we weren't successful that weekend in getting my dad his first deer (Pat got his first), it will remain a weekend where I recognized that the simplest things in life can offer a lot in the way of relationships.  I have always been close with my dad, but this one evening set a new standard that I look forward to reliving in the years to come.