I've been very fortunate in life. When I was growing up, I was exposed to the wonders that are the outdoors. Walking through the woods, seeing a deer run off, or going to the pond to fish were all things I did a great deal of as a kid. These adventures helped shape me into the man I am today. I have a new found appreciation for all the days I get to spend outside, as they aren't as often as I would like.
When I was a kid, a weekend out at the Lot meant that we got to spend time with just the guys and grandpa. Every one of those weekends was a different adventure. You never knew what would happen. Some of the best memories were catching poachers on a walkie talkie, or watching grandpa kill a snake and thinking he was the coolest man alive. Those weekends gave me permission to be curious about the outdoors and take an interest in things that didn't involve a screen.
My grandpa was the main factor behind that. He would always instill a sense of adventure into everything we did. Even when we weren't at the Lot, he would still find a way to make our time an adventure. I can remember shooting BB guns and pellet guns in his unfinished basement. The pellets would ricochet off the walls and bounce around. Most of the time we weren't wearing eye pro either. There were other times where we would go rabbit or squirrel hunting in his yard with those same guns. He lived in a subdivision by the way. I'm not sure how the neighbors never got mad. Speaking of the neighbors, every time we would stop by grandpa's before going to the Lot, the neighbor boy would come over and we'd play war out in the yard. We didn't have a care in the world. We were just happy to be kids. This was long before any of knew what a cell phone even was.
I can look back on these days and be thankful that I had uninterrupted time to just be a kid. Grandpa played such a huge role in that. So many time we don't thank the people who played a huge role in our lives. The best way we can pay it forward is to be that for someone else. Take someone you know on a hike. Open up your boat to some high schoolers. Take your nieces and nephews fishing for. day. The world would also be a much better place if we all put down our phones for a while and explored our childlike curiosity outside. You could go spend some time alone in the woods, or give something you've never done before a shot. The bottom line is that these opportunities to act like "kids' never went away. We just grew older, and the world told us we need to act like adults. I am giving you permission to go outside and explore your inner child. Leave your phone at home and go be.
Thanks grandpa! We miss you bunches!
-Paul Hoffman