The one that got away

As I mentioned in my profile, I am an avid outdoorsmen. Last night my son Luke and I went for an afternoon sit hunting turkey. The afternoon went very slowly, although we did see a lot of deer. We sat up an open green field hoping to catch the turkey returning in the afternoon to roost. Luke and I passed much of the time talking about numerous things and just enjoying the sounds and scenery of spring. When I go hunting or fishing, Luke is with me 99% of the time. I love seeing and sharing the experiences I have in the outdoor with him. In the times that we live in now it is harder and harder to have real one on one time with your kids, taking them fishing, camping, or hunting is a great way to have their undivided attention, and to reconnect . If you do this enough every once in a while you will have a cool story to tell others. We have so many stories I wouldn't know were to begin, but last nights hunt was about patience, strategy, and failure. Like I said we were set up on a green field and about an hour before dark we heard a Tom gobble a few ridges away form where we were. The tom was coming in from behind us to his roosting area. I knew we had picked the wrong spot to set up as soon as I heard the old long beards gobble. Luke looked at me seemingly knowing the same thing and said "Dad we have to move now!". So, that is what we did, we left our ground blind behind and headed into the timber in hopes of cutting off the bird before it was too late. Surprisingly we were able to move very quickly and quietly through the woods without being detected , even the deer in the field did not see or hear us. The two of us took turns calling and in a short time we were within 30 yards of the tom. He was walking on a ridge directly above us, Luke came up with idea for the two of us to separate a little. In what seemed to take forever , the tom decided to follow the trail that led past where I was set up, I thought to myself "Luke picked the wrong trail". Now, what this hunt even more difficult was the fact that Luke and I were hunting with our Bows. It is very hard to come to full draw on a turkey without them seeing you when your on the ground , not concealed in a blind. I was lucky enough to come to full draw, I settled my pin on the toms wing , and released my arrow. All I heard was a loud CRACK, I had shot the tree 10 yards away, and the tom ran off in a flurry. Don't get me wrong I was a little upset at myself for missing, but seeing the excitement in Luke's eyes was so cool. He summed it up best when we were walking out of the woods when he said"That is closest we have ever gotten to a tom with our bows". The word I focus on in what he said is "WE". Whether it be hunting , family life , or any other activities that you enjoy,......focus on the "WE" instead of the "I" it make will the memory so much more special when you have someone to share it with.