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ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

Hey guys, this is Greg's wife, Alison. I got on the computer real quick (since Greg is exhausted from his hard day of hunting and has been snoring since about 9:10 p.m., poor baby) to check my email and this thread was up so I thought I would comment real quick and tell you the "rest of the story!" as Paul Harvey would say. Our oldest boy, Matthew, who just turned 5 was getting ready for bed but missing daddy terribly, as usual, and so he called on Greg's cell to see if daddy was close enough to home for him to beg mommy to let him stay up and see him.

So immediately he starts quizzing Greg did you get one, did you get a big buck, did you get a big doe, did you see a coyote, etc..... He goes through almost the whole animal kingdom!! So Greg says no but I have a surprise for you. Well Matthew gets stars in his eyes and says did you get a turkey or a bobcat even though Greg has already told him he didnt get a shot at anything Matthew just jumped to conclusions.Because typicallywhen daddy brings home a surprise from a hunting trip it is usually something he has killed and Matthew is in heaven looking at it from every angle and seeing exactly where the arrow went in and came out. He examines every nook and cranny of that animalfor as long as mommy will allow him to stayup and do so. Hanging on Greg's every word about the whole step by step hunt, you all know how well Greg can tell a story about a hunt and Matthew makes him repeat every one quite often. So anyway, Greg says, no, I found a really cool box turtle and I brought him home for you to look at and play with for a while and then we will turn him loose down by the creek. Which Matthew is happy about but he is still focused on the deer situation. So Greg starts telling him some of the above story about what he has seen and Matthew just starts bawling, but "daddy an 8 pointer is big enough, I wanted you to bring me home a buck."

So I made Matthew get off the phone cause Greg was almost home first of all ,and secondly, because Matthew was about inconsolable by that point and admittedly it was getting late and he was tired, but he just had his hopes up real high that he was going to get to play with a deer tonight and not a turtle. I am sure you all can agree that it isfun but definitly a disappointment. I tried my best to calm him down and explain why daddy makes those decisions and that we have to trust him but I didnt make much progress for a while all Matthew could say was, "I am just so sad mommy I wanted a deer."It was absolutely pitiful and so cute at the same time!!

So that look of pure joy on his face in Greg's picture with him is really exactly how he feels about deer hunting. I guess it is just in his blood!! :) Go figure!! I am going to have to talk to Greg about how much he reveals to Matthew on the phone and wait until he can see him in person and soften the blow a little bit, if he comes home empty handed again ( which he better not too much more cause we are about out of meat and Matt is comingto visit soon so I have to have something to cook for him),he was better when daddy got home and they could talk and snuggle and review the whole thing again before Matthew went to sleep. You all have a good night and a SAFE and successful huniting season! I know we are praying for one!! :)

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