Time has a way of changing things

I have always hunted often. I have a love for squirrel and raccoon dogs that runs deep in my veins. For years I hunted at least 5 days a week and at times was hunting day and night. People always said things like, “Enjoy it while you can! When you have kids it will change.” I’d chuckle but think to myself, “It won’t happen to me. I’ll always make time to hunt. I can go when the kids go to sleep or they can just come with me.”

Well… Time has a way of changing things. There was a season where I pursued big hunts and titles on my dogs. Most weekends you could find me at a club somewhere ready to compete in a hunt. My dogs stayed in competitive shape, and so did I. That season has come and gone.

I have entered a new season of life. Now my hunting looks different. I am no longer staying out to the wee hours of the night chasing the ole ring tails. I’m not arranging my day around when I can chase after squirrels. My day doesn’t revolve around when critters move. It revolves around two wild boys. I consistently find myself waiting on those two little boys chasing after every cricket or grass hopper they see. When I first began hunting with hounds, I cared a lot about how fast my dogs got treed and how many we could get in the game bag. Now? Not so much. We’ll be halfway through the hunt and just barely make it to the first tree after stopping to look at every leaf on the ground and discuss what kind of animal might live in every hole we step over.

You know what? I love every minute of it. Time has a way of changing things, and in my experience it’s for the better.

I love this season of life. All those people saying how hunting would look different were right. I always received the comment negatively, but I have come to learn it’s actually a positive thing. My hunting not only looks different. It’s better! I now have the opportunity to raise the next generation of Houndsmen. I get to teach them how to raise and take care of these dogs. I am not upset that my hunting looks different. It’s about so much more now. It’s not about how quick or how many trees we make. Now it’s about teaching my sons the responsibilities that come with being a Houndsmen. I want to help preserve this way of life that I love. It starts with these two boys that follow me everywhere I go. I will gladly answer the hundredth time about where SOC is or stop my trek to the tree when I hear, “Hey dad! Wait on me!” Because I know one day I’ll be the one saying, “Hey boys, wait on me.” I know this season will come and go like all others. Hopefully it won’t pass by too quickly, and I can instill in them the love I have for this sport.

I hope when I’m old and grey I’ll remember the sounds of the hunts I go on now - sounds of their little voices asking a hundred questions and of the crunch of leaves beneath their little steps and of the splashing water stirred by their little boots.

I hope when I’m old and grey they’ll remember the love of their old dad. I hope that the hunts we take now to find critters will become much more than that. I hope they’ll learn life lessons from their time in the woods and how to become a good man. The True Houndsmen lifestyle is about much more than how you handle a dog in the woods. It’s about how you handle yourself in life. I hope my kids grow up to understand that.