By Dirk Thayer
The Star Herald
KOSCIUSKO —
The Good Book says in Psalms 127: 3,4 and 5: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has a quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.”
This was the first Thanksgiving in many years that I was actually off and the first in even more years that I had all of my boy’s home together along with all my grandchildren.
My quiver is truly full and I am blessed, but working in public safety has called for many sacrifices over the years.
Until recently one of my sons was as far away as Seattle, Wash., and another, who is in public safety as well, is in Georgia.
It has tough at times for all of us to get together over the holidays.
I say all of this not to complain, I say this for those of you who have normal lives, to count your blessings and never take them for granted.
We had a ball––good fellowship, good food and plenty of it.
I got to take each of my grand boys on a deer stand as long as seven and nine year olds can stand it.
All of my grandchildren got to catch a few bream on the pond while the weather was pretty.
The youngest even caught a trophy bream that weighed at least a pound or better and that boy sure loves to fish.
On one of those short hunts I managed to get a fat doe shortly after my oldest grandson got bored and went back to the house to aggravate Grandma.
Actually, I got two does over the holidays so I am replenishing my sausage and back strap count in my freezer.
It was a tradition when my boys were young for me to cook deer tenderloin for Christmas breakfast and my wife would fix biscuits and gravy.
Those boys looked forward to it almost as much as the presents.
I remember one year I didn't get a deer until New Years Eve and we had our tradition on New Years morning.
One of the boys remarked; "Now it feels like Christmas!" I cooked some tenderloin for the grandkids, my boys and actually everybody that was here the morning they were all going to leave.
Some things just don't change with time.
It all got ate and the gravy all sopped up.
I miss those Christmas mornings and having my boys at home.
I reckon that is what grandchildren are for, to fill the void.
If I heard “Pappy” once, I heard it a thousand times this week.
Believe me, I ate it up like Christmas tenderloin.
The old house is mighty quiet now.
I hope I soaked up enough of that love to get me through the Christmas holidays as I have got to work this year.
I watched my baby boy all six feet some odd inches and over two hundred pounds in the floor with the grandchildren playing with an ancient five gallon bucket full of Legos, building all sorts of contraptions. Yeah, some things never change with time. My quiver is truly full.
On the Porch with Dirk is a recurring article written by Dirk L. Thayer, an avid outdoorsman and storyteller.
