My oldest son has always been good about making sure he doesn’t mess up my hunting season. It’s been that way since the day he was born, which was August 14. He was polite enough to be born the day before the archery antelope season opener so I wouldn’t have to miss it.
Things haven’t worked out quite so well for my youngest, unfortunately. It’s not his fault, and he’d like to go hunting, too, so I know he’s not doing it on purpose. But it seems like every year, something he’s involved in happens to coincide with at least one of the season openers.
This year it was starting college that got in the way. I had been hoping to finally get back out in the field for the archery antelope opening day after several years of having to miss it, but then Logan let me know that his move-in day for his new college was August 16. If his college were closer, I’d still be able to make both. But his college is in Jacksonville, Alabama. So I missed the antelope archery opener again this year.
I don’t blame Logan for choosing a college so far away. He was looking for a school that had marine biology as a major, as well as a varsity rifle team. It turns out there’s one school in the country that offers both, and that school happens to be Jacksonville State University, which also happens to be 1,404 miles away.
And because he’s so far away, this will be the first year he won’t be able to pop home for a weekend and go hunting with me later in the season. So that’s another thing I’m having to adjust to. I just keep running across more and more things that bum me out about my boys getting old enough to leave the nest.
But then again, maybe I can get an out-of-state turkey license in Alabama. It’s certainly something to think about.
