Caulking Toward Dove Season

Dove season 2008 opens in 1 week and I am going to be in the field, somewhere, with my berretta. After an incredible six week “surge,” working almost every free hour of the day on the house, we are almost done with the major renovations to the house. The kitchen, dining room, living room, three bedrooms, family room, den, utility room, walk-in closet, utility closet, attic, siding, gutters, fireplace, hallway, and utility closet are all but done. Other projects await (including the bathrooms), but they will take place within the context of a normal life.

I cannot deny it, I am exhausted, fatigued down into the depths of my bones. But I have made it, accomplished something I would not have believed I could have. My wife and I showed a will and determination that went far beyond what I thought we were capable of. Mistakes were made, fights were had, breakdowns occurred, but in the end we made it.

It is now time for a rebirth, a new way. I am not the same person I was 14 months ago. I am older, grizzled even. But I have a new confidence in my maturity, and a new peace born out of having done something, whether it was good or bad. While I think the work was a first-rate second-rate job, I am more impressed with the tenacity and determination we showed. That was the real accomplishment. But it is time to move on, and to reclaim my life. And the first reclamation project will be dove season 2008.

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Beginning of the End (for now)

I haven't been out in the field in 7 months. The house renovation has been all consuming; its appetite for time, money and energy seemingly bottomless. The missing year is like a missing limb. But it is coming closer to ending. Today, the floors are being sanded in preparation for new stain. This will allow us to begin the final phase of renovation and start to live a normal (if there is such a thing) life again. I hope to be involved in a full hunting schedule in the fall.

Has it been worth it? Worth is a tough word to define. In a strict financial sense, probably would be about even. In a standard of living sense, again close to even. We will have a beautifully updated house, but it will not be the perfect house we stay in for the rest of our lives. In a learning sense, it will be worth it. We have become rather proficient in most areas of home repair and renovation. These skills will serve us well for the rest of our lives. In the end, beyond a quantitative analysis, I strangely would not want to erase the last year. I'm glad we did what we did even though we sacrificed a lot. This was a test; a test of endurance, of will, of a multitudinous amount of newly learned skills, of patience, of philosophy, and many more. And I think we passed the test, and I would not want to lose that experience.

However, I don't ever want to do it again. And I am ready to get back to the field. First up hopefully will be some summer bass fishing. Maybe in June.

Rooster

The Lost Year

It is a Friday in January, near the end of duck season 2007-2008. Where am I? I am monitoring the progress of contractors installing new windows into my home. Where am I not? In the field. Such is the reality of hunting season 2007-2008. It just was not possible for me to get out hunt while trying to renovate my new house. So I accepted that this season would be lost. The King and I made it out once to dove hunt and once to duck hunt, and that was all. But, if any good has come out of missing a hunting season, it has made me realize just how important getting out in the field has become to me. It will make future trips that much more instense and important. I will savor every moment, including every challenge and every dunk in the swamp. I will still curse over a missed shot or a dunk in the swamp, but I will revel in the pain and cold. Such is the lesson of loss. My goal is now to be ready to catch some trout in March or hit some bass after that first spring warm spell.

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