Tales Of The Wild Things

As a hunting, pro-gun family I have one very important thing in common with my anti-gun friends, and that is that we BOTH want to keep guns out of the hands of our kids. I remember the first time I awkwardly had "the talk" with a fellow mom. My husband had been in the garage reloading ammo and the neighbor boy was intently watching and asking questions and then said: "I'm going to tell my dad he needs to learn to do this." My heart sunk as I realized if this kid just ran home and told his parents that the neighbor was playing with bullets in his garage, it could definitely be blown-up and misunderstood. So I text his mom, and in true Brandy-style, I word vomited more than needed to be said. "Hey. We definitely weren't playing with guns around your kid. My husband is just reloading ammo. All our guns are under lock and key, but because guns were being talked about, we also told your son that he is never allowed to touch any in our house if for some ...

I sit on the couch cuddled under a blanket with my still hot coffee in hand. Cartoons flash on the TV, and I run my fingers through my son's dirty blonde hair as he blinks the sleep away from his eyes. It's still dark outside but my husband has already been gone for an hour. I imagine they've probably settled into a spot and are carefully setting decoys for their morning hunt. I slide to the weather app on my phone that says it's still well below freezing outside and I pull the blanket up a little higher and tell myself I'm more than happy to stay home with the kids. But there's that quiet whisper at the back of my mind that reminds me that isn't quite true. I would gladly sit in a cold blind, shoving handwarmers in my boots, just for the chance to watch the ducks fly across a Colorado sunrise. My inner wild always gets a little jealous on these mornings. She's never been happy that I pushed her aside to be a mom. If I'm not careful, her little ...

I pulled a jacket out of the closet this morning, and before I could close the door, my dusty hiking boots caught my eye. Maybe it’s the trees changing color or the nip in the morning air, but I feel the pull to be places I’ve never been. My heart feels like it’s banging against the walls of my chest begging me to break free from the routine, and those boots are the keys to my freedom. I close my eyes, shut the door, and load the kids into the van for the drive to school. Since becoming a mom, I struggle with that pull. I feel guilty when I put those boots on because it means I had to ask someone else to take my kids. But leaving them in the closet? That doesn’t feel right either. Those boots have been a part of making me…ME. You see, those boots have followed in the footprints of the men who taught me to be a strong woman. Those boots have rested on rocks while I talked about life with my dad. Those boots have slipped on hillsides where I learned...

We've had a few people ask, "Why would you take a 6-year-old girl Elk hunting?" The truth is, because I want her to know she can. My daughter craves adventure. I love that about her, and I want to stoke that fire in her soul. So when she asked to come hunting, saying "No" didn't cross my mind. See, we tell little girls that they can be whatever they want to be. Hairstylist? Get it, girl! Scientist? More power to ya! CEO? Put those boss skills to work, chica! The trails have been blazed, and little girls know they can do it all because they've watched the women before them do it. The thing about being an outdoorsman though is that it teaches little girls (and everyone for that matter) not just that you CAN be self-sufficient, but that you are CAPABLE of being self-sufficient. By camping and waking up before sunrise, she's learning that some things are worth showing up for. By going on challenging hikes, she's learning that sometimes hard...