Be Thankful..

As waterfowl season's all around the country come to an end most of us are left with mixed feelings.  For me, it's always been a feeling of despair followed by relief.  Waterfowl season ends up being a routine of early mornings and rushed life all running together into one.  I love each and every morning of it but any way you slice it, by the last stretch of season it feels like work.  A guy can only wake up at 4am and go out into sub-freezing temps to stand in rivers and sloughs so many times before it begins to wear on him.  Not to mention, all the scouting and preparations.  As well as, taking care of your dog and the endless amounts of gear.  We love to do it and some of us don't even know why.  This year was an exceptional year for my neck of the woods.  I made a lot of memories and new friends along the way, even took some great video and pictures.  However, as the season drew near the end I found myself beginning to get those same feelings of relief and despair.  Tired, walking around feeling more like a shell of me rather than the real guy.  Constantly being tired and spread thin. Wondering like always why after enjoying it all season did I feel so ready for it to be over.  It had been on my mind for days.  After praying about it for some time, not really feeling any better about it, I kept coming up with two words.  Be thankful. It seems small but when those two little words finally sink in they really hit hard.  I often found myself trying to do too much and putting more work on my heart and brain than I need to.  I end up spending more time being anxious about something or preparing for the next hunt rather than enjoying the moment.  I believe there is a lot of work in having good hunt after good hunt and that's not a bad thing.  But I believe getting caught up in the work of the hunt can take the fun out of it and at-least for me, make me forget the reason I'm really out there.  To enjoy the great outdoors and God's creation.  So my advice to you? Be thankful.  Be thankful that we enjoyed another great season.  Be thankful that you enjoyed so many of those sunrises.  Be thankful that we are blessed to live in a place we can experience the outdoors any time we want.  I promise, once you put those things first, it won't matter as much how many ducks and geese you shot or how big that buck you killed was.  All those things will just be icing on the cake.  As for me, I'm thankful and looking forward to the next season.  In the meantime, I'll be catching up on life.  God bless.