Two things are happening in my life at the moment. In a very loose way - the sort of loose my DH simply shakes his head at - they are related. A Target store is opening in my town. I adore Target but I never get to shop there because the closest one is 45 minutes away. Not anymore :-) You have no idea how giddy I am. I foresee them getting a nice chunk of my next paycheck.The other thing is the opening of hunting season. For the last couple years this hasn't been important in my life. My father and DH used to belong to a hunting club but they both let it lapse several years ago. They just couldn't get there enough to make it worth their while. Well...our neighbor has invite DH to go with him and his son opening weekend the middle of Nov. He absolutely deserves this trip! He hardly takes time for himself and I know he's excited to go. Maybe a little too excited. He's been talking about it. A lot. And now Sweet Pea has started talking about it.
Yesterday we went out for a family adventure to the local wildlife refuge. In the car she started drawing pictures. After a couple ghosts and pumpkins she switched to something else - a girl in a tree stand with a gun (complete with finger on trigger) pointed at a 12 point deer. I'm betting my six year old is the only girl drawing pictures of hunting.
She's already told me she's going with DH when she gets old enough. And I don't doubt at all that she will. Part of me is proud of her - that she doesn't see the boundaries and limitations society tends to put on things. There's nothing in this world she would hesitate to try if she really wanted to. That makes me proud. But the thought of her in a tree with a rifle makes me cringe.
My plan is to hold her off for years and years. Maybe I can strike a bargain with DH - she can go hunting the same time she starts dating. That should give me at least until she's thirty. Plenty of time to combat the guns and male mystique with shoes and shopping trips. Of course, I could always just bribe her with a pony. Yeah, that could definitely work.
Your kids into anything that makes you cringe?
Instigator
9 comments:
Take heart, Instigator, the urge to hunt shall pass for her if you fob long enough. Girl wanted to go hunting also and I just put them off and now she'd much rather go to Target. :))))
I wasn't raised in the hunting mindset, so I don't have much to offer to the situation. In my head, a child that loves ponies and bunnies and whatever does not reconcile with wanting to shoot and kill stuff. Thank goodness DB likes motorsports instead. I'd cry if he brought home a dead something. I think Sweet Pea's got enough of the girly-fairy princess drive in her to overcome it and go for the shoes instead. Just delay as long as you can.
In my head for some reason, I can totally see Baby Girl doing it though. Like she'd make a great sniper. Not sure why. That kid just seems too old for her age somehow. And ornery. I like her. :)
I dunno, Instigator. I was at my dh homecoming this past weekend and half the court included hunting, fishing and camping to their list of hobbies. :D
LOL, SP! Yeah, BG could totally be a sniper. She is a bit ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants.
I think SP doesn't have a problem reconcling liking animals and killing them because DH has to do it so often. Just in past week he's killed a possum and 2 coyotes. Of course as soon as SP heard the possum was sitting in the back yard until he could deal with it she wanted to run outside and see it.
I grew up with my dad hunting. I'd come home from playing at my friend's house to find a deer hanging upside down in the garage. I suppose you get used to it (although I must admit I was never happy about it. It just was).
Instigator
My boys would bring home turtles and crawdads and stuff from the creek. They knew better than to bring home snakes; that was an instant death sentence.
The DH likes to fish, but he's a catch-and-release fisherman -- except for the 40 pound salmon he caught in Alaska. Mmmmm, that sucker tasted good.
Um, does talking back and rolling her eyes count? :)
Luckily, mine is all for shopping at Target, but only if I'm buying her something.
Angel
Yeah, something about Baby Girl tells me she's going to be a wild one. Of course, DG freaks her out for some reason.
Annoyances? You mean beyond Disney Princesses and High School Musical (good lord, who names a character Sharpay? Are we implying she's a b*tch?)
LOL, Instigator! Hey, I'm thrilled about that Target too. When I go visit my mom now, we can make a run to Target and shop together. Not that I don't drive to the one in H'ville on a regular basis. I think it's about 8 miles away from me, so yeah, I'm a regular. :)
Well, when I was about 14, I decided I'd like to go squirrel hunting with my dad. I knew how to shoot, of course, and off we tromped into the woods. It was cold, and I was bundled up. And then he informed me we had to sit on the ground, be very quiet, and watch the trees over our heads.
I spent more time looking for spiders crawling on me than I did at the trees. But when the squirrels showed up, yeah, I got the blood lust. I aimed, squeezed, and waited. The squirrel did not fall from the tree, and I swear I had an immediate rush of gratitude that I'd missed. I never went squirrel hunting again. :) So maybe, just maybe, it'll be a passing phase. I wanted to be a girl who could shoot, but I realized that I could shoot at targets instead of cute fuzzy critters. :)
Put on Bambi. That should do it! :-) It worked for our girls. I used to get called a murderer for hitting a butterfly or bird while driving down the road. I mean, come on! How am I supposed to keep from hitting something that flies into me.
The music #3 listens to now drives me nuts. Lots of yelling. Ack!
High School Musical and Sponge Bob rate way up there for me. #4 is really into both. (HSM 1&2) Ugh!
With #2, comes constant drama. But she's the best so I don't mind so much.
#1 never gave me any worries until his senior year and the BIG 18!
Good luck! This too shall pass.
Kathy
Post a Comment