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Sunday around 4 Stuart finally got home from deer hunting, I was so ready to see him! I have a love/hate relationship with deer hunting. I think the hate part is obvious. He leaves me alone almost every weekend from October through January to sit in a tree - alone- waiting - like me.

The love part is the hard part but basically it's cheesy. I've learned to appreciate his passion. In the the whole scheme of things what if he just sat around all the time without anything to do. I would go crazy, we would both go crazy. Every year I'm learning to respect his passion more and more. The look in his eyes when he tells me about the deer he has seen or even better have killed is seriously like the look in my eyes when I walk into Target. Ok well, I'm not that passionate about Target, but his eyes definitely have a twinkle.

We've started a tradition that I go hunting with Stuart every Thanksgiving weekend. I love sharing that time with him and I think he loves that I enjoy going. 3 or 4 years ago Stuart and I shot two doe from the same stand, and it was awesome!! We were in a winter wheat field with it's bright green leaves and the cool breeze, it was beautiful. We watched 6 doe eating, I think it's amazing to sit there and watch the serenity of nature. Two of the doe walked directly under our stand. Stuart talked me through aiming and firing, which I did. Stuart's initial thought was that I missed. He said, "Hand me the gun," and I did. Wanting me to experience what it was like to be a part of a kill, he aimed and shot at the second deer. After a few minutes we clambered down the stand and went searching for our deer. (Well really Stuart's deer since he thought I missed). Well, I didn't miss nor did Stuart and it was awesome! (Yes, I had to help clean, but we won't go there).

I guess having experienced the challenge and thrill of hunting with Stuart gave me a little more respect for his desire to sit and wait and watch in a tree. I have my moments when I'm cranky and ticked that he's gone. I'm trying to remind myself how much he loves it and there's not way I would ever take that passion away. There are benefits. We miss each other like crazy and when he gets home we have fun catching up, telling about our weekends. You know that old saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder" - I believe it during this time of year. Our time together when he's home is always more special.

I'm not going to lie though, I'll probably have to refer to this post several time during this season!