The Ultimate Solitary Think Tank
I’m approaching one of those BIG milestone birthdays. You know, one of those that ends in a “0”, one where the total of your past years is a higher percentage than the total of your expected future years. One that makes you stop and think about your life: past, present, and future.
When it’s that kind of thinking that you need to do, you want a place that’s isolated, quiet and peaceful; a place in a natural setting where no human intrusions are allowed. Well, I found the perfect spot and, girls, you will never believe where it is….a deer blind! It was an accidental discovery I made thirty years ago when I took up hunting to get a chance at a week-end glimpse of the man I was dating. (Turns out he’s now my husband of 28 years.)
A deer blind may seem like a bizarre sort of “solitary think tank,” but when you think about it, a deer blind commands respect. You’re there to put meat on the table, right? And maybe even a trophy on the wall. Everyone expects you to turn off your cell phone, be still and quiet, perhaps even catch a quick nap, read a book, etc. No one would dare walk or drive by for fear of disturbing your earnest watch (especially if they know it’s a woman in the blind who’s got a gun and could possibly be suffering with some temporary hormonal imbalance). I’m telling you, this is the perfect escape, especially if there’s absolutely nothing that you want to do other than think. Who knows whether you saw any game to harvest or not? The stories that unfold from your “blind time” can be truth or total fiction, which allows for a lot of creativity. (Something else I learned from hanging around hunting camps.)
So in anticipation of this BIG milestone birthday looming in my near future, I took my gun, ammo, and camo ditty bag and headed for my deer blind to do some serious contemplation about my life as a “Shotgun Wife”….past, present, and future.
The first time I made reference to a “Shotgun Wife” in my best friend’s presence, she asked sarcastically, “Is that what follows a shotgun wedding?”
“Not necessarily,” I said, “although I guess it could. What I’m talking about is a life-style. You can be a shotgun shooter and/or a hunter, but you don’t have to be either one. You just have to love a shotgun shooter, or love the outdoors and wildlife, or like to cook a hunter’s harvest, or enjoy going on hunting trips, or find hunting apparel fun to wear, or take pride in the fact that your faithful family dog is also a devoted hunting companion….” The list seems endless to me. And in my case it all applies.
As I sit in my deer blind thinking back over the years that have preceded this biggie b-day coming up, I know my best years have been the last 28 since I became a “Shotgun Wife.” (And “No,” it didn’t start with a shotgun wedding!)
Ann Kercheville is President of Joshua Creek Ranch. Located in the renowned Texas Hill Country just 45 minutes northwest of San Antonio and 90 minutes southwest of Austin, Joshua Creek Ranch occupies a uniquely diverse terrain including miles of Joshua Creek and Guadalupe River bottomland planted in fields of grain crops for prime upland and deer hunting habitats. You can visit their web site at http://www.joshuacreek.com.
Ann Kercheville is President of Joshua Creek Ranch. Located in the renowned Texas Hill Country just 45 minutes northwest of San Antonio and 90 minutes southwest of Austin, Joshua Creek Ranch occupies a uniquely diverse terrain including miles of Joshua Creek and Guadalupe River bottomland planted in fields of grain crops for prime upland and deer hunting habitats. You can visit their web site at http://www.joshuacreek.com.
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