cal516

That is the challenge. Finding balance and sharing with the chores and making family time. I have a hard time also. I am a single dad with a four year old boy and a live in girlfriend. I just changed jobs and the one I have now doesn't allow me anytime to hunt during the week when I don't have my son. I get him 50% of the time. So that gives me every other weekend to hunt. Tack on spending one on one time with the girlfriend and that weekend nearly disapears. Not only that since gun season just started the woods look like a Tennessee Vol football game and sounds like a shooting range. I mo longer have the woods to myself when I could hunt during the week. How I balance it? Bottomline, my girlfriend understands. She got up and watched my son opening day bow season. Do something "extra" other then spending normal everyday time.

Terasec

Think this is a fair topic that's not often discussed.
Everyones situation will vary.
Some live in the woods, some live near the woods.
Others like myself live far from the woods, and try to take advantage of every chance to be outdoors.
Personally I try to stay home and do what needs to be done before having my time out.
Even if the task seems trivial. And seems like your missing some good hunting to go to some snot nosed kids bday party at chuckecheese.
I rather have fewer days/trips out. Hbut have those days with peace of mind.

Terasec

Think this is a fair topic that's not often discussed.
Everyones situation will vary.
Some live in the woods, some live near the woods.
Others like myself live far from the woods, and try to take advantage of every chance to be outdoors.
Personally I try to stay home and do what needs to be done before having my time out.
Even if the task seems trivial. And seems like your missing some good hunting to go to some snot nosed kids bday party at chuckecheese.
I rather have fewer days/trips out. Hbut have those days with peace of mind.

Buck_Slayer

I'm taking advantage of all the kid-free time that I have for now. My wife and I are working on having a kid.

I do have a very understanding wife and she works every other weekend. I get out as much as possible, but I never but her on the Back Burner. I hunt more than enough. I can't wait to have a kid though, even if it does cut into the hunting a little bit for the first couple of years. If there are chores around the house, I wait for 1 or 2 gripe sessions from her before I put off hunting


EDIT - that last sentence made it sound like I put her off,,those are just the weekends that she is working that a put off the house work

Bob H in NH

You miss-understood me! We get these threads on here all the itme "my wife doesn't understand me" blah blah blah. What my wife, his wife and your wife say and do with respect to hunting will probably be very different. Asking us is wrong, asking us what we do is wrong. It's irrelevant, it's 100% a discussion between you and your wife. What you guys agree to is what's right, simple.

Why do you care about what my wife and I do? Are you going to use that as "ammo" to negotiate with your wife? is that fair? Nope.

Never accussed, or meant to accuse, you of ignoring family. This my two points where:

- Talk to your wife about this, not us.
- Family time comes and goes. What you need to do for your family this year may change for next year, and it WILL CHANGE for 10 years from now.

Family comes first. Simple as that. That's also a simple and vague statement. What you agree works for your family might get your friend in divorce court, different family, different people, different situation.

M92

Ya see. not long after I got out of the Corps I was working off shore. My hitches were three weeks on three weeks off. We didn't have the money to pay for a lawn service to cut our grass, so it was getting long while I was on days on. One time home before going back I asked my wife to mow the grass at least once while I'm gone. She said, and I quote "I was an only child, I mowed enough grass when I was a kid. I refuse to do it now."

That next days off she was cleaning the house and I was watching TV. She asked me to help. I responded. "Baby. I cleaned so much when I was living in the barracks, that I refuse to do it now."

I reckon he would use it the same way 99.9% of married guys use information gathered from their other married friends. He would probably break down the information he got, look at how he can apply it to his family and how they behave, and come up with a better solution than he currently has.

Folks that dont ask opinions of others in order to help them make better decisions tend to learn things very very painfully.

GPMD

I am super duper lucky! I am just hitting the one year mark of living with my fiance, wedding is in January. My hunting land is only 15 minutes from the house. She actually TELLS me to hunt and if i take a few days off, she questions why. I was suspicious at first but she basically said she'll never tell me I couldn't go as long as there are no real things going on at home. The only time I'll have a problem is when we have kids and she needs help. So anyway, I've spent the most time in a tree in my life this past year. Either she has a boyfriend on the side when i'm gone (which i'd gladly accept during hunting season ), or she truely wants me to do what i love. Since I can hunt during the week, I make sure to take her out over the weekends to do what she wants. I know all of this will end eventually but I'm loving it while i got it!

trader74

My girlfriend hunts with me so i dont really have that problem. and i have no kids so im pretty much golden right now.

Chuck7

I can't relate as I had moved down here to go to college...BUT when I moved here I was obsessed with fishing,,,,so..I took the boys with me..yes even at 10 months old..Mom wife enjoyed me giving her a break..I LOVED MY BOYS...still do..

Honestly..I would be taking my boys hunting as soon as possilbe..BUT if it does come to choosing between hunitng and family..It must be family all the way..




THEN

AND

NOW { -;

dpv

10 years married in a blended family. Couple years back my wife was sick. I didn't go out at all that year. Didn't want to. She is well now and I am hunting this year. I am hunting every chance I get. As I told her, " I'll hunt every day I can unless I fill my tag before the end of the season." She misses me, but doesn't give me a problem. I work long hours....don't want to, but must for my job. During the rest of the year I do what needs to be done for her and the kids. Hunting is about the only thing I do for myself any more. You have to work it out in your own situation.