Any 'Hunting Widows' out there?

hoffmanr7 · November 2016

Not really related but just curious if there are any fellow 'hunting widows' out there.

My DH is an avid hunter. Deer, grouse, pheasants....you name it, he hunts it. As much as I enjoy the fruits of his labor, I find this time of year a bit trying. For the past couple of weeks, he has been out hunting every day after work until dark, and then the vast majority of the day on weekends. And actually weekends end up being worse. The past couple of weekends have looked a bit like this: Saturday- hunt in the morning, come in and watch college football, hunt until dark. Sunday- hunt in the morning, come in and watch NFL, hunt until dark, watch late game in NFL.

Every day I hope he gets his buck, just so that it is over and I can have my husband back. It gets very tiring spending so much time at the house by myself. The added frustration comes from having to be in charge of dinner every single day. Normally we split it pretty fifty/fifty but during hunting season, I have to get dinner made unless I want to wait until like 8pm.

I have been binge watching old episodes of ER to pass the time when he is out. Come rifle season, I will really be home by myself as he goes up north and stays the whole week at his hunting shack up there, except on Thanksgiving which we do up north at his parents' house.

What do you other 'hunting widows' to help you get through hunting season?

funkykey · November 2016

Whoa - hahaha. Your DH sounds hilarious. I can't think of anything I'd rather do less than sit in the woods for hours with a gun. Staying in a "hunting shack" for a week? Um, pass.

My DH does not hunt. We live in a city, so it's not common. I'm from a city too, so no one I know hunts. But my DH is from the country, and when we go visit his family, he takes off with his guy friends and hangs out in the woods with guns for hours, shooting targets. We have a lab and DH has mentioned several times that it pains him to have a gun dog who he can't hunt with. At first I was like: "Really? That's what you think about?" and now I'm like: "I know, honey. He would love to hang out in the woods with you, too."

hoffmanr7 · November 2016

@funkykey Yeah, hunting is definitely not on my to do list. He has tried to convince me that I should go out with him. I told him I wouldn't see anything because I would just be sitting out there with a book....plus I have no desire to just sit out in the cold for hours on end.

And I should point out the hunting shack is actually pretty nice, as hunting shacks go. He is part of a large group among his family that have bought into it. They have over 100 acres of land there, and the shack was built brand new less than 10 years ago. It even comes with a built in tap for their beer kegs. They do still have to resort to an outhouse, so yeah, no thanks.

What color lab do you have? We have a black...and yes, she is trained as a bird hunter. He doesn't take her out too much anymore though. She's getting up there and has hip problems.

GoldenKeys · November 2016

My DH doesn't hunt, but he does have a similar work "season" in November/early December where I barely see him because he's traveling for his job. One time his flight was delayed and he got home at 9:00pm on Thanksgiving Day. That was the WORST and I had a huge meltdown.

I did try going with him and staying at the hotel while he worked but that was even more boring and lonely than staying home.

So what I do now is use that time to pamper myself: I catch up with girlfriends on the phone, I eat all the foods that I enjoy that he doesn't really like, and I watch lots of girly or artsy movies that he kind of just tolerates for my benefit.

One year I decided to learn how to crochet, and while I still completely suck at it (I'm not crafty at all) it passed the time surprisingly fast... so maybe some kind of hobby like painting etc could help.

FX that your hubby gets that buck soon!

funkykey · November 2016

@hoffmanr7 of course it comes with a built-in keg tap! That is my DH's dream- cabin in woods with keg of pilsner, surrounded by dogs. I can hear the justification now: "Honey, it's way easier to pack out a keg than to deal with all the cans".

We have a yellow lab, who is 6. His hips stiffen up sometimes too - he's not as bad as he will be, but even when he goes camping with DH now, he needs recovery time after. All the running, swimming, wiggling, and bouncing - he can't pace himself. Once when they went away for the weekend, the dog wore himself out so much running and jumping, that by Sunday morning, DH had to actually carry him around - like to and from the car.

hoffmanr7 · November 2016

@funkykey Ours is the same way. She just doesn't know how to pace herself...especially when she gets in hunting mode. Then there is no slow for her. Then she ends up spending a minimum of one whole day to recover (and also requires having to be lifted in and out of the car)

flashley-2 · November 2016

****Lurking****

Hunting season is a thing in my house. My DH is also a conservation officer so hunting mixed with arresting the 'deer jackers' consumes a lot of our 'together' time. When my business allows me, I always go with him to the stand. He really enjoys that even if I only get out a time or two during the season. Plus, deer=jerky and we love that !!

Best of luck to your husband on his deer hunt !!

txmomma16 · November 2016

@hoffmanr7 Your DH sounds like a friend of mine. He's out the door the minute hunting season starts. I do love that his hunting shack has a keg but no toilet, but hey, priorities. ;-)

My DH doesn't hunt, but like @GoldenKeys, he always seems to be traveling this time of year for work. He is in NYC right now, spent all of last week in DC, will be going to Virginia, Chicago, Boston, and LA sometime between now and the second week in December, and then probably back to DC another time. It can be really frustrating, especially with the TTC objective. Luckily (unluckily if I'm honest), we've been at this awhile, and he is just as motivated as me. With injections and IUI, he knows when he has to be in town, and schedules accordingly. The hardest part is doing the shots entirely on my own, and last month getting the BFN on my own.

This month I told him that he has to be in town the day of my beta.

I don't have much advice to offer, except some of the same things @goldenkeys said. I try to get my girls nights in on nights I know I'm alone. I've tried various hobbies, needlepoint and sewing lately. Last time he was in DC I binge watched Gilmore Girls in a successful bid to watch all seven seasons before the new episodes come out later this month. Things I normally wouldn't do with him around.

I hope you find something that you enjoy that keeps you happy and fulfilled!

Any 'Hunting Widows' out there?

Re: Any 'Hunting Widows' out there?

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