Reality Check

Hey Everyone, thanks for stopping by ole TW's lil blog. I've been doing the same trying to surf around and catch up on reading my friends blogs, which I enjoy very much. You can tell a lot about a person just by reading their blogs, well except mine because I never make a whole lotta sense.....laffin. Guess thats why I call it Rambling.
I learned to face a reality this past week that really upset me and just made me see that PH sucks even more than ever. About this time of the year my youngest son, Steve, and I go on our annual big Duck hunt up in the northern Delta part of the State. This is a once a year thing for me and I always look forward to spending it with Steve and our hunting buddies. This year was no exception, I was ready to go for weeks before it got here, guns all cleaned, duck decoys ready, just all excited to get going. Its about a six hour drive from Poverty hill to where we were going to hunt, almost on the Arkansas state line. The trip went great with the usual lies being told, and the bragging about who was gonna kill the most ducks, just the regular man thing ya know. We arrived at the hunting camp and slept for about 3 hours before getting up at 3:30 am and eating breakfast and preparing for the first day of the hunt. I felt great even with just the few hours sleep. Sometimes I guess I need a reality check, because I don't seem to want to accept that I just can't do what I want to do, the mind is willing but the body just says "No Way."
The first day was a memory jogger though. We had to wade in waist high water for about a quarter of a mile wearing chest wader boots that weight what feels like a ton, especially when you're wading through mud and water. Well as you could understand I'd walk about 20 or 30 yards before I'd have to stop to rest, out of breath and gasping for air. Finally with Steves help though I made it to the place we were going and we had a great time taking our limit of ducks. The only thing the whole time I was hunting all I was thinking about was how I dreaded the walk back out. With about 20 rest stops though I make it back to the truck but was so tired I couldn't hardly muster enough energy to get up into it without my buddies help. What a dose of reality, and a hard shot to my ego. The next day we hunted in a place where I could just drive my ATV to the spot we were hunting, now this was great. I can do this!!! I was tired from hunting the day before but I felt manly again now, I didn't have to have any help, Hallelujah, but my energy level was bottomed out. On the third day I was short of breath just walking 20 feet, reality had set in, I sat down with Steve and told him that I was afraid that this would be my last duck hunt that I couldn't do it anymore. I explained to him that I wanted to hunt as much as I ever did, but my body just wouldn't allow me to. This in itself was a hard thing for me to do, I felt as though I were disappointing my son, who had always looked up to me as his mentor and hunting buddy. Steven looked at me and smiled and said, Dad you are and always have been an inspiration to me, for you to come out and do the things you have done these past few days is amazing, I just hope I can grow to be the caliber and man that you are.
Not only did I leave hunting camp with my dignity intact, I realized that my youngest son has grown up and is already that caliber of man. Thank You Lord.
Well let me get outta here I've still got chores to do. Yall come when ya can, the door is always open to my friends.

Hugz N Handshakes

TW(Terry)