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You may, or may not know, that my sweetie and I met because we share a love of shooting. We both shot competitively in college. We have both done a bit of hunting (I usually just go along for the ride) but mostly we target shoot.

So, today, our baby girl shot her first gun. At 3 flippin' years old. Even as much of an enthusiast as I am, I balked a little. I think even *I* was 5 years old when I started shooting. It was a spur of the moment thing, but she had so much fun. She jumped up and down and said, "I learned to shoot a BABY GUN!" We had to explain that it was a "BB" gun, not a "Baby" gun.

We were visiting Curtis' parents. They live in a very affluent neighborhood, and their house backs up to forested open space on a hill. The deer come down routinely and eat all of the flowers in the garden beds. So, they have always had a BB gun in the wash room to scare away the deer. Curtis was plinking away this afternoon, and he asked Anna, "Do you want to try?" (For the record, there were NO deer today, just cans. I don't want her shooting *at* anything for a VERY long time to come - if ever.) She was so excited. She really just stood between his knees and after he aimed, she pulled the trigger with him. It was very cute. She doesn't generally like loud noises, so I've wondered if she would ever be interested in shooting, like we are. My little brother never has been, until very recently (he's 16 now). If she's not, that's fine, but it's kind of a family thing to pass on. But, paranoid Safety Officer that I am, we spent the rest of the afternoon drilling gun safety. I am a certified firearms instructor, and so we are going to be spending a LOT of time on this from now on. All of our guns are safe - but you never know what they might come across somewhere else.

Anyway - a milestone today. And a cute "Daddy & Daughter" moment. She'll probably be a better shot than EITHER of us are.

*For what it's worth*
I hope no one is appalled or offended at the content of this post. I know that "guns" are an emotionally charged issue for a lot of people, myself included. For us it is about a hobby and a sport that has been shared and passed down for a number of generations. It's something very special that I share with my Dad, my husband, and is a part of some of my fondest memories growing up. I respect other people's opinions, and never push my own on them. If you ask me, I'll tell you what I think. But I don't think I've ever told someone that felt differently that they were wrong to feel that way. To each his own.