The list of why...

Going shooting with Devin is usually something I twist out of. I always have some excuse for why I should not go and he should. (I'm pregnant, the baby is too little to be out in the cold, etc.) It is something that I know he likes and enjoys, but I don't. However I have decided that I am changing my tune. Here's why:
  1. We own the guns. We got them because I know it is something that Devin enjoys and cares about. I have my interests that he doesn't get in the way of, so I felt that I should let him have his too, even if I didn't like it. So, yeah, we own the guns.
  2. One of Devin's reasons for wanting guns is that if he were gone and some scary boogie man got into our house I could pull out a gun and scare the dude out. Problem: if I don't know how to work the banging thing it would probably be more harm to me than the scary boogie man. Solution: learn to work the banging thing.
  3. I do feel that if we are going to own guns (and even if we don't own guns) I need to teach my kids to be safe with them. Well, I can't teach them something I don't know myself.
  4. Devin really does enjoy going shooting. He likes guns and shooting the way I like crafting and reading. He thinks about it. When we are shopping he looks at guns and ammo. In social settings he talks about it (while I usually leave or just don't take part in the conversation). Since it is something he so enjoys I need to choose to not avoid it or be negative about it. Even if I don't enjoy it I can let Devin enjoy it. That is what he would do for me. Does do for me. He would like it if I at least knew enough to have an intelligent conversation with him about guns, and not shy away from social conversations about guns.
  5. I don't try to keep Devin from going out shooting with friends or family. I just don't go with. However I have come to realize that that doesn't go unnoticed. Devin's family know that I will happily stay with a house-full of kids while the adults all go out shooting. It is not that I feel taken advantage of, like I said I stay with kiddos happily. Rather it is something that Devin's family, including in-laws all enjoy together and not me. It is something that they share.
  6. Well, I don't know what number 6 is, it just seems like there should be a number 6 and I just don't know what it is yet. I will have to update this post when I figure it out.
To further make my point, we don't have pictures of me shooting guns.

None of this means that I have reconciled my thoughts/feelings about hunting. Just the owning of and shooting of guns. As a hobby and family recreational activity.

2 comments:

Cassy said...

Isn't it interesting how our relationships change us. I never thought I'd have a gun in the house either. But I knew when I married Todd that wasn't even negotionable. He has changed my views on a lot of topics. Love you!!

Anna Lois said...

Uncle Jim loved guns. He went hunting occasionally, but was more at home in a shooting gallery. He was an excellent marksman with bow and arrow. Their was a time when he considered entering bow and arrow tournaments, and I didn't discourage him, but he could see when he started investigating it, that the practice time, and traveling time and money would take away from family time and money. I tried learning to shoot once, and was shocked at how much "kick" the guns had. It seemed impossible for me to steady a gun. Jim liked black powder guns, too. Our last pleasant conversation was about Smith and Wesson and about the Browning Armory.