Nevermiss
02-05-09, 06:37
It's a cool spring morning and I'm sitting in my hunting blind, bow hunting for turkeys with my 6 year-old daughter when she looks up to me and says, "Daddy, isn't is strange that there is an animal named turkey and a food called turkey."
Hmmmmm. I have to carefully select my words for my daughter who has never seen an animal die, so I respond, "Well, the food that we eat is actually the same as the animal. We can eat the breast, the wings and the drumsticks that you like so much are the legs." She remains quiet with a slightly perplexed look to so I continue,"It's kind of like how steaks and hamburger come from cows".
I can see the wheels turning in her head trying to make sense and she responds with and excited look in her eyes, "You mean we get to hunt cows too!".
I had a little more explainig to do about what livestock is and we both learned quite a bit that day. We never did see any turkeys that day, but my first turkey with a bow was soon to come.
About a week later we had two Toms and four hens come by and I let my arrow fly at 33 yards and it went right through the lungs of the largest Tom. My daughter was even more excited than I was. When we were driving home my daughter said to me,"Daddy, I am so proud of you for getting your first turkey and you did it on your first shot!" I thanked her appropriately and then there was a pause............"Daddy, I think I'm ready to hunt turkey with my recurve now" (She had just got her first bow about a month earlier). How I love her enthusiasm.
So that evening I was dressing the bird and then I put my daughter to bed. I was cleaning up the kitchen so my wife would have no complaints about any mess and I heard my daughter crying in her bed upstairs. My first thought was that my six year-old daughter just saw an animal die for the first time and this is a very natural reaction. I walked up the stairs thinking carefully about what I would say and I walked into her room, wiped away the tears and gave her a big hug and asked "What's wrong honey?"
She replied, still weeping,"Daddy, I'm just so sad that turkey season is over now and we dont' get to hunt together any more"..... then I started to get a tear in my eye. God has truly blessed me.
Hmmmmm. I have to carefully select my words for my daughter who has never seen an animal die, so I respond, "Well, the food that we eat is actually the same as the animal. We can eat the breast, the wings and the drumsticks that you like so much are the legs." She remains quiet with a slightly perplexed look to so I continue,"It's kind of like how steaks and hamburger come from cows".
I can see the wheels turning in her head trying to make sense and she responds with and excited look in her eyes, "You mean we get to hunt cows too!".
I had a little more explainig to do about what livestock is and we both learned quite a bit that day. We never did see any turkeys that day, but my first turkey with a bow was soon to come.
About a week later we had two Toms and four hens come by and I let my arrow fly at 33 yards and it went right through the lungs of the largest Tom. My daughter was even more excited than I was. When we were driving home my daughter said to me,"Daddy, I am so proud of you for getting your first turkey and you did it on your first shot!" I thanked her appropriately and then there was a pause............"Daddy, I think I'm ready to hunt turkey with my recurve now" (She had just got her first bow about a month earlier). How I love her enthusiasm.
So that evening I was dressing the bird and then I put my daughter to bed. I was cleaning up the kitchen so my wife would have no complaints about any mess and I heard my daughter crying in her bed upstairs. My first thought was that my six year-old daughter just saw an animal die for the first time and this is a very natural reaction. I walked up the stairs thinking carefully about what I would say and I walked into her room, wiped away the tears and gave her a big hug and asked "What's wrong honey?"
She replied, still weeping,"Daddy, I'm just so sad that turkey season is over now and we dont' get to hunt together any more"..... then I started to get a tear in my eye. God has truly blessed me.