Grandpa and The Rookie Hunter
I had a grandpa moment today. I was walking along a camp (I work at a youth camp) path that ‘paralleled’ a high ridge on my left. It reminded of one of my favorite watches at our hunt camp called the t-pail watch.
We call it the t-pail watch because the trail ‘marker’ that indicated where you would turn off the logging road and walk up onto the ridge was marked by remnants of grandpa’s old tea pail. The story goes that this was the spot he would stop for tea while woodcutting or hunting (correct me if I’m wrong dad).
To get back to my original story (at the beginning of this post), the whole setting reminded me of grandpa and one of the first times I went hunting with him as a kid. I told the story while sharing some words at his funeral several years ago.
It was a portion of these words that stood out in my mind while walking today. They went something like this,
“I can remember when I was hunting with grandpa…I was 15 and a little nervous about being left alone on my hunting watch…grandpa (no doubt sensing this) said wait out your watch, and when your watch is done, come see me over that ridge (the t-pail watch I mentioned above) and I’ll be waiting for you. On the surface it may not seem like a significant event, but it helped calm a young hunter’s nervousness. Yet even now as we begin this new chapter in our lives without him, I am encouraged to know that when our watches are done here on earth, grandpa will be waiting just over the next ridge for us – excited to fill us in on all he’s been doing since God called him home.”
I miss you grandpa…
experience
I miss him too !He looked after me like that as well. ..Dad
very strong and moving post. thank you.
That’s a nice story. Sounds like your grandpa was a special man.