I'm a Cheater

This week marked what I think was my 20th year as a hunter.  I can distinctly remember being at the Dwight, Illinois hunter safety education class with my Dad, looking forward to becoming one of the “guys”.  Thanksgiving became a new tradition for me to hunt with Dad and the McMeen’s, trekking around for pheasants and rabbits over the years.  Next up were my first deer hunting trips sitting quietly next to my dad in the rural woods of Pike County.  You see, I had to sit a few years without carrying a gun, so I knew what to expect and how to handle a deer hunt.  I can still remember my first successful hunt with a single shot twelve gauge.  I missed the first shot, and fumbled in my pocket looking for another shell.  Dad then took a shot too, and told me that it was in fact him that missed, and my first one was a hit.  To this day, I’m still not sure if he was telling me the truth.

Fast forward to today, and I am beginning to appreciate what I’ve learned along the way.  For me, the pace of life can get bothersome, and there is something really cool about a couple quiet days in the timber with just the squirrels, birds, and deer walking around.  It turns out that the world didn’t stop while I took a day off, and work still got done without me.

Another thought is that if you’re a decent person, there are so many people and things that want 100% of you and your time, but it’s an impossible equation.  Your family, career, community boards, clients, vendors, and many more want your undivided attention, but you can never offer it to them all.  In his book “Choosing to Cheat”, Andy Stanley tells readers that there will always be people in your life that will feel cheated because of this.  As a result, I’ve decided that to the best of my ability, my family will never feel cheated by someone or something else.  That means I cheat by saying “no” to a lot of things, which isn’t easy for me.  I just trust that saying “yes” to my family will never be a bad decision.

I guess the punchline is that during this  holiday season (and beyond), I hope you’ll say “no” to things, so you can say “yes” to the important people in your life.  There will always be more work to be done and projects to complete, but you will never go wrong with quality family time.  Thanks Dad for saying “yes” along the way to hunting trips, little league, basketball, and letting me ride shotgun in the semi.  And thanks Blake and Jared for saying “yes” this last weekend.  I had a blast.