My wife and I watched The Bucket List the other night, and it was a good movie. However, it made me think (again) about when I am shooting the great pd town in the sky, (hopefully). My wife and I have had our issues with health, both of them serious, so this question is not frivolous.

However, the question is not concerning my "bucket list". When I am gone, will I care about what I have done? Certainly not. I have raised several children and have spent as much time as I could with them fishing and hunting. But I have a 6 year old grandson and another on the way.

What should I do (soon) with my grandsons/daughters that THEY will remember after I am gone.

I suppose another way of approaching this, is what is your most favored memory of your grandfather, or "significant other" that you have. And what is on your "bucket list" for your grandchildren?

Jim

Spend time with your grand-kids, it does not have to be anything special to be memorable.

My only memories of my grandfather are him dying, in a wheelchair the last years of his life. The only activity I remember was pushing his wheelchair too fast for his taste. I feel cheated that I didn't get to know him well.

My daughter is 6, she was 3 when my Dad died. I know most of her memories of Pappy were at our farm, during hunting season. Dad would take a day off of hunting and babysit, so I could take my wife out hunting.

At 6 years old, your grandson is old enough to spend more time away from his parents, time with you. He is probably mature enough to get started shooting under very close supervision. Hopefully he lives close, if not, its summer and he should spend a week with his grandparents.

I am lucky. At 38 I still have a healthy, active, live alone grandmother. My grandfather, her husband died 3 years ago but my 10 year old girls remember him well. on my fathers side my grandfather died when I was 24 and his wife when i was 29.
I still remember well 2 great grandfathers and one great grandmother.
When i see married couples who wait till they are in thier mid-late 30's to have children i feel bad for the future. Young kids need those lessons learned from grandparents.

pdhunter1, I would say that other than spending good time with them that they will always remember, the best gift that you could give them would be to share the bible and Jesus with them. Nothing else matters in the long run.
wapiti7

Take the kids to Ducks Unlimited banquets etc.....

Take them target shooting and help teach them respect for the firearms.

Show them how to cut up and grind/wrap venison...

Teach them respect for wildlife and how to care for the animals in the world.

Take them on a prairie dog shoot.....

Just a few ideas to get you started

my grandad died when i was 5 or so. i have only a few memories of us together before he got sick. but a couple of things that stick out the most in my mind is him showing me how to shoot his lever action bb gun. then taking me turtle shooting at his farm pond. i had the bb gun, he had his (now my) lever action .22. i was young enough that he had to work the lever for me, it was too hard for me. i spent a good amount of time with him as my folks lived close by, but those are the things that stick out the most in my mind when i remember Gran-D.

My grandpa taught me alot of things. We had so much in common as he was a die hard hunter, fisher, and a Foreman for housing projects. I'd have to say the most memorable events that took place with papaw and I were hunting and fishing memories. I'll never forget that 35lb Flathead and 20lb Blue that we caught together one day on the bayou. I'll also never forget the many successful deer hunts we had together. In his later years I helped fix up his hunting spots, loaded and cleaned his deer, and cocked his crossbow before each hunt. His nick name was "Tinker" and we tinkered with just about anything.

I guess what I'm trying to say is take them on as many fishing, hunting, and camping trips that you can and teach them all you know about the various challenges associated with each. Have plenty of patience and try not to force things on them as many kids have short attention spans so it's best to keep things fun. It's also better IMO to start them on easy trips such as fishing in ponds or small game hunting, you know, fast paced types of trips where the action is hot. They'll never forget the many trips with Grandpa and will pass on the memories for many years and generations to come.

Good Luck

Reloader

Take him hunting fishing shooting ect a couple hrs at a time for a six year old. keep light and fun and one well make a good hunter.

Your time is the most important thing you can give them. Work hard and play hard together ... enjoy the time.

Both of my grandfathers died young in my life, I barely remember my mothers dad. My fathers dad I do have a few more memories of.

He wasn't into sports much. He liked building things out of wood. I recall going to the shed out back and playing in the pile of wood shavings from the jointer. When ever I work with white pine, I recall laying in the shavings and having a ball.

I have started my 6 year old grandson on shooting. His father hunts and fishes so he should get some experience from him also.

All of you have given me excellent ideas, and I thank you.

There is one that never crossed my mind, and is going on the "bucket list". Teaching (as many as I can) to butcher and wrap a deer. I have a lot of experience with that chore. Near as I can tell, there is no one else to teach him that.

Yup, its on the list. Thanks.

Jim

You can teach them a lot just by being around you. My grandfather taught me that it certainly is possible to be married to the same woman for 60 years and how to treat ladies, regardless of your age. I had to hold the door for my grandmother when I was 6.

Make a special event for just you and them. My daughters are now 18 and 20, but they both still know that Dad will get up early on Saturday morning and take them to breakfast, if they want to get up. We do it every Saturday while the wife sleeps.

Unless you have something truely remarkable in mind such as a safari or other MAJOR undertaking with the kids - and given the ages I doubt that's the case - just do "normal" stuff with them. Talk to them, take them fishing or hunting or just go to the range and plink with a .22 or air gun. As I think back the most outstanding memories are of the most mudane things. It is these things you do with your kids and grandkids that they will remember whether you're dead or not.

quote:

Originally posted by pdhntr1:
What should I do (soon) with my grandsons/daughters that THEY will remember after I am gone.
Jim

Take them out to watch the sunrise over a marsh and show them how to miss ducks and swear a lot, and if you really want them to always remember it, knock down a few and show them how to clean and prepare them. But then I'm just a waterfowling fool at heart...

Cheers,

KG

No grandkids yet, but I learned from my grandad and grandmother to make everyday a holiday when with them. Spend time and money on them. Take them everywhere and do what they want to do.

My wifes grandmother's "love language" was cooking, so we spent one day a week with her eating whatever she would cook. It was time well spent.

Right now, my wife's parents are content to hole up in a nothing little house and not talk to anyone. Makes me wonder. They will die alone and lonely eventhough family is near by.

Spend time and energy to have that relationship with your kids and grandkids.

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:

quote:

Originally posted by pdhntr1:
What should I do (soon) with my grandsons/daughters that THEY will remember after I am gone.
Jim

Take them out to watch the sunrise over a marsh and show them how to miss ducks and swear a lot, and if you really want them to always remember it, knock down a few and show them how to clean and prepare them. But then I'm just a waterfowling fool at heart...

Cheers,

KG

KG,

Cool pics. Thanks.

I was raised on the water. Spent most of my youth fishing, trapping, set lining, and hunting ducks.

An old resort owner/guide/river-rat taught me how to hunt ducks and did a very good job of it.

I have drifted away from duck hunting but your pics bring back many memories of the sunrises on the marsh. I still have a duck skiff, but I have modified it for fishing small mouth on the rivers around here. It was the first fiberglass model that was produced and I gladly burned the cedar one that was leaking so bad you couldn't use it any longer. This one is old enough to have been re-glassed twice. It has seen one hell of a lot of ducks and fish.

Anyhow, thanks for the pics and suggestions.

Oh, by the way, Hunter (my 6 year old grandson) has got the swearing thing down real good. His Ma says he got it from me, but that just can't be right.......

Jim

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, and you can be assured I will spend as much time with them as possible.

Jim

I lucked out on the big one when it came to grandparents. Both sets of grandparents were in their late 30's when each set had my parents. Each set of grandparents were born in the early 1890's and were well into their 90's when passing. So I had the full gamut from both sets. They had farms and loved hunting and fishing...so you know what I learned from as far back as I can remember. Instead of going home after school it was not uncommon to go to their farm and stay for days and weeks on end until told to come home! Hunting, barns full of hay, wind up Victrola playing records, gardening, canning, toy spin tops, and all the while my grandparents right in the mix with me and my siblings. Memories enuff for a lifetime. But in todays world fast cars and planes take us everywhere and unfortunately my grandchildren live 1200 miles away for me to show them this type of time...so YES, spend as much time with them as possible!

Write down some memories of what your youth was like, your hunts, dreams, disappointments, and so forth. Tell them as much family history as you can in this writing; once that knowledge is lost, it's gone forever. Then when all that is left is faded photographs and old guns, they will know you cared for them.
Walt

I would suggest you focus on what they want to do...not what you think you want them to do.

Each kid is wired his own way and will relate to something in their own way. They will have the fondest memories doing the things that really appeal to them...not necessarily the things that appeal to you.

If you are really blessed, they will like the stuff you like. Then it is a no-brainer!

Good luck!


Tim

quote:

Originally posted by BUCKMT:
Write down some memories of what your youth was like, your hunts, dreams, disappointments, and so forth. Tell them as much family history as you can in this writing; once that knowledge is lost, it's gone forever. Then when all that is left is faded photographs and old guns, they will know you cared for them.
Walt

Thanks Walt,

That is another one of the things I am going to try to do. I will be trying out a video camera on the pd hunt next week. I am going to get as much video as possible and burn it to a CD so it is not lost.

If it works out, and I can figure out how to edit and burn a CD, I will buy one.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by tarbe:
I would suggest you focus on what they want to do...not what you think you want them to do.

Each kid is wired his own way and will relate to something in their own way. They will have the fondest memories doing the things that really appeal to them...not necessarily the things that appeal to you.

If you are really blessed, they will like the stuff you like. Then it is a no-brainer!

Good luck!


Tim

Thanks Tim, and I will keep that in mind as I had to do that with my son. I took him fishing, hunting and trapping, but it was not his thing.

I remember very well the day we came off the lake with several big walleyes that we caught and he told me he didn't really want to go fishing anymore. And we never did. He has killed a deer and some birds as a youngster, but the only thing he has any desire to shoot anymore is pds with me.

I have made some of my best trips with him so I consider myself very lucky.

Jim

I have already been with my son in Namibia, my goal is to take my son and grandson on an elephant hunt before I'm gone. I'll spend next Sat night in a tent with my grandson and a .22 and a fishing rod. That's how you get a 6-year old's attention. I'm lucky in that my family has a propensity for long lives, and I've managed to keep myself in shape, so I fully expect to hunt into my eighties.

quote:

Originally posted by jstevens:
I have already been with my son in Namibia, my goal is to take my son and grandson on an elephant hunt before I'm gone.

Are you interested in adopting anyone?

quote:

I'll spend next Sat night in a tent with my grandson and a .22 and a fishing rod. That's how you get a 6-year old's attention.

And that would get my grandson's attention right away, too. He would say to me, "you're crazy papa, you go out and sleep with the bears, I'll sleep in the house". But I am sure you will both have a wonderful time, and I hope you catch some fish.

Almost 40 years ago, I took leave from the Air Force and Dad and I drove as far as we could up a forest road into the Bitteroots, and then hiked from there and spent several nights in a tent, eating mostly canned beans, and looking for elk. I remember it very well.

I can't open a can of beans without it bringing back fond memories.

quote:

I'm lucky in that my family has a propensity for long lives, and I've managed to keep myself in shape, so I fully expect to hunt into my eighties.

My father is in his early eighties and is still planning to go on one more pd hunt with us boys. I hope it happens for him and for us.

You are lucky to have the "good" genes.

Jim

To all,

I am leaving tomorrow on a pd hunt and will not be able to respond to any posts for at least a week.

Thanks to all.

Jim