Five years ago, I decided that I wanted to buy some land. I had convinced myself I needed it, but I didn’t know how to approach my wife about it. I’m not sure how it is in your family. In mine, a hunting club membership might be my decision, but a land purchase is a FAMILY decision. One day, out of the blue, I just asked her. ”Honey (I always start out this way when I want something) would you ever want to buy a little place somewhere out in the woods, with a cabin and maybe even a lake?” She didn’t even have to think about it. “No” she snapped, “I can’t even keep this house clean, why would I want another one? And you……you can’t even keep the grass cut at home. How are you going to find time to keep up another place?” Ouch!

Months after that conversation, I came home talking about a little place I had found.

I caught her at a weak moment, and off we went to see it. It was beautiful, and it was peaceful. The cabin was closer to a shack than a lodge, but it did have indoor plumbing which was definitely a plus in my wife’s book. I am not sure how I got her to agree to purchase it. Perhaps it was the fact that we were living in one of the most congested suburbs of Atlanta at the time, and after fighting traffic all week, the chirping of birds sounded a whole lot better than the honking of horns. Even so, she went into this whole land buying process with the idea we were buying my play place; my place to hunt and fish. I don’t believe she ever went into it thinking it was going to be a family retreat or a place she would enjoy.

It’s not that she dislikes the outdoors. She loves it, as long as there is a lounge chair, a beach towel, a small cooler by her side, and a body of water she can wade in when she needs a break from basking in the sun. A condo on the beach would have been more her speed, but you can’t hunt from the balcony of a condo. It also helped my situation that we couldn’t afford the ocean front condo, but that’s another story.

When we were in the process of purchasing our place, I thought the cabin would be what would sell my wife. She saw it as more work. When we walked to the lake, I saw the road as just a way to get to the lake; she looked at it and said, “Oh this is beautiful.” The gazebo didn’t matter to me, but for my wife, it is a cherished place, where she drinks her coffee and reads the newspaper. My wife loves our place in the woods as much as I do, but for different reasons. She enjoys basking in the sun (and yes, she even tries to do that in the pasture). She doesn’t hunt or fish, but she gets as excited as any of us when my son comes back with a catfish, or a deer, or a rabbit, or a squirrel. She goes there to read, to pursue her hobby of photography, to simply do nothing.

For us, owning land was a family decision with family benefits. It is our place to just go knock it in neutral for a while. If you are considering a land purchase, get the whole family involved. You’ll be glad you did. In next week's article, we’ll discuss how you can get started down the road to land ownership.

2010….I can hardly believe it’s a new decade, my son turned 16,  and the next time we face a new decade, he will be 26…..notice I didn’t mention I would be ten years older as well.  It is moments like these that make me realize that the time we as family spend together is priceless and is always cherished.  It also makes me realize how much the great outdoors has played a part in our family time.  Each year my wife makes a scrapbook for both of our moms highlighting all of the things we did as a family and almost all of our family’s activities for this year took place oudoors.  No matter what the season or activity,  we seem to be doing it….outdoors

Just this weekend as cold as it was, we found the time to take a walk through the woods, and of course, hunt.  Yes, we froze, but it felt invigorating to be out there and more importantly, memories were made, the pictures were taken for next year’s scrapbook…. and that’s all that counts.  Hope you have a great year enjoying the outdoors too.

Personally, it’s a time in my life to reflect on the memories of seasons past.  Memories with friends and family in the field, or just those early morning breakfast gatherings and the smell of coffee and bacon in the skillet.  The older I get, the more thankful I am of each season I’m able to just be part of it.  To be able to sit in the stillness of a crisp autumn morning, one with nature and watch the orange sun peek over the horizon is nothing less than a blessing.  Squirrels cutting acorns from the tree tops to the deer below, owls hooting, blue jays singing, and turkeys flying from their morning roost are all part of another daily routine of morning activities in the autumn woods.

I’m often asked by the unfortunate people of this world, how I could rise so early in the day and search my way through the darkness of the forest to sit on stand all morning not guaranteed anything but the rising of the sun only to return home empty handed.  I just tell them I’ve never once returned home empty handed but they never understand.  Opening Day has come again, so don’t miss the opportunity of the rest of your lifetime.