Friday, January 8, 2010

Girls, Guns, and Bonding

It's Fatherhood Friday! It will be worth your time to click the link and read some great posts written by dads and moms at dadblogs. (of course you can read and comment here first)

Have you ever seen City Slickers? You remember, the movie about hilarious male-bonding? Well, in it there is a conversation when Billy Crystal talks about how he remembers baseball stats because that was something he shared with his dad. This never made a whole lot of sense to me. Intellectually I grasped the concept, but it just didn't resonate. As a result, I always assumed it was a gender thing. I mean, jeez, I talked to my dad all the time. We did things together, we even went to baseball games, and I didn't need to know stats, . So, for all these years it was labeled "guy thing" in my head. Until this Christmas.

This year the crowning gift from my husband was a 12gauge Winchester shotgun. (it's a country thing) I had been asking for one for 3 years, since I went skeet shooting with my dad in Michigan. (finally the stars aligned, Hubby got a great deal, and I got my gun complete with trigger lock) Admittedly I was a bit intimidated. It is one thing to hold a gun in a field designed for shooting and quite another to hold one in your living room.

After all the presents had been opened and once the kids were settled in with their gifts, I was able to call my dad to offer holiday wishes. The conversation turned to gifts and I was able to tell my dad about my new gun. It was at this point that a whole new world of conversation opened between us. There was more than the usual interest, there was excitement and speculation. He wanted to know the make and model, which hubby had told me so I could be somewhat "gun literate." We talked about gun models and styles, as well as all things shooting. My father, a business man from Chicago, shared a whole new person with me. One I had glimpsed when he "took his girls shooting" a few summers past. We now officially have conversation fodder that is exclusive of kids, work, and current events. A whole new ball game, and I don't have to learn any stats!

6 comments:

  1. Congrats! That type of bonding is priceless & timeless!

    Cheers!

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  2. Ha - you requesting a gun for Christmas reminds me of my wife asking for power tools. Most people assume I'm buying them for myself but I wouldn't even know, or care to learn, how to turn them on. When it comes to Aussie Rules Football, however, I'm a freak and already have my sons learning jumper numbers etc.

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  3. Now I want to come visit all that much more. We can go shooting together!!!!!

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  4. ~BellaDaddy: Thanks. Now my hubby is doing the same bonding with our teen.

    ~ReservoirDad: LOL! Jumper numbers?? You lost me.

    ~WeaselMomma: See, it's like a redneck resort down here!

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  5. You are awesome for being a gun toting lady.

    The City Slickers baseball scene resonates with me big time. It is one of my favorite scenes of the movie.

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  6. ok, since nobody else ventured to the time honored, christmas story line..i'll be the one to say "you'll shoot your eye out!" lol just kidding, i know you know what you're doing and can't wait for you to tote that baby up here and we can kill some cans :)

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