I am writing this article the day before I have to be out of my house because we’re moving into a brand-new bigger house. The new house will be completely custom with decks facing the deer runs, blood proof flooring, and stone counter tops perfect for butchering. I needed to buy a few things before the move-one of which was a freezer. With the growing number of hunters in the house (and the astronomical amount of food they eat) we needed a huge one and I finally found one 7ft long and with freezers bigger is always better. Apparently a customer overheard me saying I needed a big freezer to put in a whole body if it’s hot. I didn’t see but my staff said his face was priceless.

My life right now is about packing. The last time I moved was completely different and I got my guns out and into safe storage months ahead. As long as they were safe all else could be replaced. I offer firearm storage at Oley's to anyone who needs it because there are more circumstances than you think where safe storage is necessary.

This time my guns will be in the last load taken out of the house. They are tools and I may need them before I go. I do not use them for self-defence and with Canadian storage laws they are pretty useless for protection. I proved that fact, to my own horror then amusement, a few weeks ago. In the middle of the night I woke up to someone getting in my bed. Waking from a dead sleep I did a quick rack of my brain and there was no one I could think of who should have been climbing in there that looked like that. In a split second I realized the following: I didn’t know who that was and there was no way I had a hope of getting out of the bed to get as much as a fly swatter to defend myself so I might as well just give up. In the end it was my youngest son wrapped in a big blanket. He is now responsible for taking yet another year off of my life.

Yesterday we packed a bag of corn my daughter found in her closet. I sort of remember stashing it there before a showing. Now the thing about corn is: it is the hunter's version of glitter. Any other moms know where I am going with this. There is now corn all over the house, all over the lawn, all over the limo and also all over entryway at work because it spilt as they unloaded it and I caught them mid-way to bringing it in the building and made them put it in the shed instead. We had corn at work before, years ago, and I am still finding it stashed places from chipmunks. This is why I no longer sell corn at the store.

I am sure I am going to kick myself for the method in which the packing has been done. Likely I should have labelled the boxes, likely should have organized stuff a little better and for sure there is something someone will need that is in the box at the bottom back corner of the pile. As long as I know where my hunting supplies are- all is good. There were lots items packed that brought back of happy memories- I found a piece of the white patch off the chest of my first bear. There were some discoveries I forgot I had- there was a head in the freezer that I forgot needs to go to the taxidermist. In the end it will be hard to leave a house that was so safe and happy for me but life now is better than it ever has been and there is a new house just waiting to make new hunting memories