Dear whomever is trying to reach me (or any other hunter),

This is my favorite time of year. It's the single week where I get to disconnect from my regular hectic life and sit in a tree stand to wait for a deer to cross my path. This week I probably won't be answering calls, texting much, or being active on social media. The reason is because I'll probably be spending most of my days up in my tree stand praying for a nice deer to walk by, so I can shoot them. The only time you'll see me on social media is if I actually get a deer because then I'll have to brag about it since they're far and few between.

I'm probably going to be in my tree stand for 5+ hours a day, depending on if I go out in the morning or not. Those who know me well know how much I hate mornings, so for me to go out hunting before the sun comes up is a huge deal. Once I'm in my tree stand I spend most of my time thinking deep thoughts that I don't normally get to think about during my normal day-to-day life. The thing is, when deer hunting, depending on your hunting strategies, hunters get A LOT of time to their selves. It'd get pretty boring up there if I didn't have something to think about. Sometimes I think about past conversations I've had, about future writing ideas, or simply what I'm doing with my life, which we all know isn't simple.

I try to resist taking my iPod into the woods with me because then I end up playing candy crush the whole time and I'd possibly miss a deer walking by me. I do bring lots of snacks though! my coat pockets always have an assortment of mini chocolate bars to curb my hunger until it's time to go back home. If I get extremely bored, or cold to the point where I want to leave, I just count in my head until it's time to leave. It sounds stupid, but when your toes feel frozen it really helps pass the time.

When I first started hunting as a little kid it felt like I saw deer in the woods all of the time, but now that I've been doing it for so many years I'm seeing them less and less. My dad tries to make me feel good by saying the deer know I'm a better hunter now and their afraid for their lives, which they should be! Right? Some years I'll see them multiple times and miss or can't get a good shot, while other years I don't see anything. That doesn't mean I don't go out hunting. It just means I wasn't in the right place at the right time. If I do in fact get a deer please be proud of me and show your support. You'll never understand how much time and effort is put into bagging a deer, unless you've done it yourself.

I just wanted to put out a warning for myself, and any other fellow hunters, that we'll probably be pretty absent this week because this is our favorite time of year. The week of thanksgiving, also known as rifle season in the hunting world, is like Christmas for us hunters. It's the one time of years we get to spend with old hunting buddies or at our family's hunting camp. Just be patient with us if we come back to work or school next week excited to share our newest hunting stories. This is what we live for and this is our time to shine!

Sincerely, deer hunters everywhere