December 15th will be one year since I lost my Dad. But I think I dread opening day of gun season far worse than the one year anniversary. As the different hunting seasons have come and gone it's like I had to admit to myself that he's really not going to be here to hunt with me. Gun season is the last one. I know it sounds silly but in the back of my mind I keep hoping that I'll drive up to his house and he'll walk out on the front porch to greet me and Brody and it'll all have been a bad dream.

Being a true "Daddy's girl" I've learned a lot about myself in the last year. Including just how much I depended on him. That man never let me drag, gut or cut up a single deer. "Let me get it for you, baby," he'd say. And there I was a grown woman. He taught me how to do it myself but then he always did it for me...LOL My husband is definitely there to help me with anything I need but just knowing I can't call my Dad to help me track a deer or just text him from the tree stand to share a joke I heard - it's just tough.

Back in the Spring, I went on my first solo turkey hunt and called up my first gobbler on my own. I knew he was looking down and smiling from ear to ear. Maybe he'll send me that ole' ghost buck that I've been hunting for the past three years.

I will say that peculiar things seem to happen to me in the woods now that he's gone - from a red-winged blackbird perching on the end of my shotgun barrel to a red-tailed hawk flying down into the tree just a few feet away from my tree stand. Some people might think it's crazy but I know it's him in some way. The outdoors was so ingrained in who my Dad was and now it's that deep in my heart as well. And Brody....well as long as that child lives my Daddy will never truly die. He's a little Joe all over again.

Last Thanksgiving, I had a tremendous drive to be in the woods with my Dad. Even my husband commented that he'd never seen me hunt that hard. I just wanted to get out there & I couldn't really explain it. Dad and I hunted together almost every day that week - most twice a day & had such an awesome time. A week later he was in the hospital and never made it back home. Just goes to show that when your gut is telling you something you should listen and never take those times for granted.

I suppose it will get better with time. But one year really hasn't made things any easier on my heart. I just hope I can make him proud this season and bring home the meat and maybe even some horns.

Sorry to be such a downer but I guess I just needed to get out my thoughts for my own sake. I appreciate y'all allowing me to do that. I hope one day I'll be half the hunter my Dad was. When it came to being a woodsman - he was truly one of the best.

Great read, sorry for your loss.

All dad's should strive to make their children better people. I think yours did that.

Fantastic post! Well done and sorry for your loss. Sounds like you had a great Dad and an even better father/daughter relationship.

Thanks' for sharing...I'm sorry for your loss my wife lost her father almost 4 yrs ago(heart attack)and I/we miss him all the time as well as our 16yr old..he stayed at his(papa's)all the time he was his hunting and fishing partner since he was 2..it's funny how much he acts like his paw paw as well..

Great Read

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like a great Dad. Shoot straight and make him proud.

I'm older than you, i'm 51, but i also lost my dad this past December. I miss him and regret not spending more time with him, but i was with him when he died. I put him to bed and he went to sleep, and never woke up. I hope we all are lucky enough to go in our sleep. Sorry for your loss. I think of mine everyday. I was with him when he killed his last deer, a large 200lb 7ptr. He was 82 when he died. Makes the holidays hollow, when the matriarch goes. Keep your head up and kill a hoss, and when you do, look up and smile.

Great read.

Great post, I'm sure he's looking out for you and Brody in some way.

Great story. I lost my dad almost 6 years ago. He was my best friend and my favorite hunting buddy. I miss him more and more every hunting season....

Great post, made me stop and remember my Dad.

Good post...

Very well written.

Thanks for sharing your story. I am envious of the time that you shared with your father in the outdoors since I never had that experience. Your father ad a job to do and it sounds to me like he completed it in raising his children and grandchildren. Smile at your dad when you smoke that first deer of the season because he will be watching.

Not a downer. Its good to reflect back in your mind on the good things we have shared with loved ones.

Fantastic post!!

Not a downer at all. A true testament to a job well done as a father.

Thanks for sharing some of your memories.
I am glad you had such a close bond with your father. More men need to step up and take an active roles in their children's lives.

Great read. I to lost my father last November 16th. I think about him everyday. No matter how old I had gotten, I always enjoyed calling my father and discussing my hunting season and especially my successes. That never got old. I miss it terribly. However, I was fortunate to spend a great deal of time last year hunting with my teenage son. I couldn't be more thankful for that!!

Great Post. Thks for sharing

Great post and sorry for your loss. I understand how you feel lost my dad this July.

I got a little dirt my eyes reading that. I'm sorry for your loss but thank you for sharing that.

Great post!

I guarantee you,by just reading this one post from you, you have made your dad proud your whole life. Sounds like he raised a great kid.

Good post!

Yep, that made my screen blurry. You were no doubt blessed with an awesome Dad. And I know exactly what you're talking about in the 'signs' that come to you in the woods. I remember hunting with my Dad too. Lost him in '74 when I was 17 and miss him every day.

Great post!

Not depressing at all thanks for sharing.

Sorry for your loss. I lost my dad on January 10th of this year, so I can surely understand how you feel.

So sorry for your loss! Thanks for sharing!

I hope one day when I'm gone, my son's will feel like you. I have one that loves the outdoors and one that loves the stage. I've tried to be involved with them on every level int their respective interests. I hope they remember me as fondly as you do your dad.

And make no mistake, he will be there with you in some way this upcoming season and all the ones in your future.
You will feel his presence in the breeze in your face, in the scent of an oak bottom or a pine thicket, in the sunrise and the sunset. Sounds like he raised a good girl. Bless you, your husband, and Brody this year!

Dr. B

Great post! Your daddy would be very proud of his little girl. The hurt never goes away it just gets a little better as time passes.

I am so sorry for the loss of your Dad. As a Dad myself, I can guarantee you his is as proud of you now as he ever was when he was here on earth with you, probably more.

Just the fact that you are carrying on a tradition that he taught you would mean the world to him. And don't think for a minute that he isn't there with you each time you go out there. You should read the meaning of the hawk sighting and you would better understand if you are not aware of its meaning.

God Bless you and your family and consider yourself fortunate to have had a Dad that shared his love of the great outdoors with his daughter. I try to share that with my daughter as often as I can.

Thanks for posting and sorry for your loss. Sounds like your dad raised you well. I hope my two little girls remember and cherish the times we have together in the woods the way you do with your dad.

Durn got something in my eyes...Thanks for sharing...brings back a lot of good memories...Awesome post

Great post!....

Good stuff. my two boys can remember their papa on many rabbit hunts and as Dad would have it our family enjoys the outdoors. Amen to Dads and Grandpas Almost like a "Jesus"of the outdoors

Thanks for the story. Time does help with the healing but they are always in our heart.

Great post..

Great story. Sorry for your loss. Your Dad sounded like a great man and a great Dad.

Good Luck this season, Your Dad will be watching from above.

There's nothing like a good dad. It gets easier as time goes by but never goes away. I lost mine 4 years ago . I shot the largest buck I've ever killed last year and immediately I was wishing he could see it but then reality sunk in and took some of the joy from the moment. I'm sad he is gone but happy he lived.

Tambo,

I understand where you're coming from. My dad went to be with the Lord April 10, 2010. And I miss him terribly. But, time does heal wounds, including the loss of a loved one.

It sounds like your dad was a fine man, and there's no doubt he was proud of you. I expect your dad raised you in such a way that you're now prepared to handle just about any situation you find yourself in while in the woods. Maybe the good Lord above will allow your dad to point that gray ghost your way this year!

God bless, and good luck this season!

Dang onions.... As a daddy to daughters, I hope and pray every day that I can accomplish the type of relationship with my girls as they become adults that your dad had with you. I can promise you the time spent was more valuable to him than you will ever know.

Sorry for your loss. I lost both my remaining grandparents a few months apart three years ago. The feeling of loss gets better but hasn't gone away; I really don't expect it to. I talked to them everyday and got to see them every few days and I would love to just sit in their living room and talk to them just one more time.

x2

Having lost my Dad at 16 was extremely painful and difficult. The first year was hard going thru all the holidays and traditions that you normally shared together but I can tell you Tambo252 it will get better! Those peculiar things that you speak of and experienced are Gods way of telling you your Dad is always watching from above! Thank you for sharing and God speed.

A great and fitting tribute to a man who got it right. May God bless you and eternally bless your Dad for living a life that truly represented what a Dad is. Any man can be a father but it takes a special person to be a Dad.

Thank you for sharing about your father and your feelings. It's nice to hear about the Dad's that get it right!