Opening Day

As most of you may know, today was opening day of dove season. Last year, I went with Adam on a shoot for the first time ever. I didn't shoot. I just watched him. I was pretty much hooked and begged him to take me again-next time taking a gun of my own. For whatever reason we never went to another shoot last year. Fast forward to today. He lets me tag along with him; this time bringing my own gun with me (well, technically borrowed from my Daddy). A guy really loves his wife if he lets her tag along for something he really enjoys...that she could potentially ruin. Yes, I feel special!

Today was maybe the second time I've ever shot a gun in my life, so it could've been a potential disaster. Obviously we both made it home alive, so I didn't do that bad. I won't go on and on about all the birds we didn't see, but I will tell you what I learned about A today. I didn't really learn these things about him. We've been together for almost 10 years, so we know each other pretty well. Today I was reminded that he is:

Confident. Decision-making is easy for him. He can make a decision and believe in it 100%. Today, when a bird dropped in, he quickly aimed and shot before I could even get my gun up. He was so sure of himself, he wasted no time wondering whether or not he'd actually hit the bird; unlike me, who would hold my gun in the air forever (in reality a couple of seconds) wondering whether or not I'd make the shot. He balances me in this way. Where as I will question every decision I make, he is confident in his decisions. When I second guess myself, he reassures me that everything will be fine.

Patient. A characteristic I don't see much in him. Actually, I take that back. He's married to me. That requires a lot of patience. He waited a l.o.n.g. time for those birds today. He would sit and wait. And sit. And wait. And I would be in the ranger, in the shade, drinking some water and getting a snack (yes, I just admitted that. no, I did not sit there all day. I just took a short break from the unbearable sun every now and then). He was calm. He didn't get frustrated that we weren't seeing many birds. He didn't get annoyed because it sounded like WWIII everywhere except where we were sitting (everyone else was seeing birds where they were, we assume...or maybe they were all a bad shot....we don't really know)

Optimistic. This attribute gets on my nerves sometimes (not really). When we weren't seeing many birds today, he kept saying just wait, let it get a little later. He was hopeful we would eventually see all the birds everyone had raved about before we got out there. He is forever telling me it's gonna be okay, it's fine, or it's gonna work out. I get frustrated because when I'm upset about something, I just want to be upset. I don't want to be told everything will be fine. But, ultimately, I'm thankful he is this way because he keeps me positive!

Humble. He missed very few times today. But, he is human. He can admit when he misses the mark or messes up. He knows he can't do everything perfectly, but he tries his best and he gets pretty close.

Although neither of us got our limit today, we both had a good time and enjoyed each other's company. It's nice to be able to hang out with someone, without the distractions of life or other people, and still be able to make each other laugh, have a conversation, or just sit quietly. There are times we argue, there are times we get along great. I'll put it like this, which is what I realized when I decided I wanted to marry him; yes we disagree, yes we make mistakes, but at the end of the day, there's no one else I wanted to make those mistakes with. There's no one else I want by my side when I'm learning from those mistakes. Each day is an adventure in our journey. Some days are eventful; some days are boring. Either way, there's no one else I want to spend all my days with <3

I love you, A. Thanks for a fun day!