You know you’re a NHC if…

all you want to do is light your pretty pink candle and the only lighter you can find looks like a gun.

Watch for Deer Widows This Weekend

It’s the eve of Deer Widows’ Weekend here in the Midwest. The first weekend of the firearms deer season, dedicated to shopping, cropping (scrapbookers LOVE this weekend), drinking wine, and all-male revues. At least that’s what the retail marketers would have us believe.

A retail real estate developer actually takes credit for originating “deer widows’ weekend” in a marketing campaign 20 years ago at a Detroit-area shopping mall. Today, catering to the women left behind when hunters take to the woods, these marketing strategies are common from the Midwest all the way to Texas and Georgia.

Malls, restaurants, big box stores, casinos, and even strip clubs have jumped on board to compete for the attention of the growing number of women with disposable incomes…and a grudge. Some of the  marketing messages for deer widows are pretty negative, trying to sell us on acting crazy and spending excessively just to spite our hunter-husbands. I like to think we’re better than that.

The marketers may go too far, but there are some great deals out there for women this weekend. Getting a jump on your holiday shopping is a great way to use that free time we talked about (see It’s Great to be a Non-hunting Companion).

If you decide on a road trip, check out this town of 460 people, New Era, Michigan, where the whole town supports deer widows. Or stay closer to home. Listen to the latest music from Flint’s popular rock band, Deer Widow. What will you do for fun this weekend?

It’s Great to be a Non-hunting Companion

Yep. Living the hunting life as a non-hunting companion can be tough at times. “Companion” pretty accurately describes the way us spouses feel during hunting season, relegated to the backseat of life. But there are great things about hanging with a hunter, too:

·         Learning to appreciate nature

·         Traveling to remote, non-touristy places

·         Meeting others with similar interests

·         Winning some occasional, much needed “me” time

·         Having regular one-on-one time with your kids/parents/friends/cat

·         Caring for a sweet, smart working dog

·         Having enough free time to shop/work/learn/exercise/volunteer/read

·         Learning to clean and cook really weird but delicious foods

Honestly? It’s taken me a few years to work through the resentment of coming in second to a hobby. When life gets lonely and you’re in the backseat, review this list. Relish your personal time, the quiet of an empty house, the freedom to watch HGTV on a Sunday afternoon.

Time is a gift.

On Being a Non-hunting Companion

My name is Cynthia, and I’m a non-hunting companion.

Sound a little like an introduction at a support group meeting? I’m pretty sure there aren’t any support groups for spouses of hunters, though there probably should be. It can be a lonely life. I know because I’ve been married to a super-serious hunter for many years.

If you’re wondering about the term non-hunting companion, I definitely didn’t coin the phrase. But after 30 years of marriage to a man who hunts for a living as well as for a pastime, I figure I’m pretty much an expert on the subject.

Non-hunting companion is a term used by booking agents and hunting guides to describe non-hunters on a hunting trip. We are the wives and friends who tag along on a hunt in dire need of a vacation, or looking for a chance to visit a new locale, or maybe we just want to spend time with our loved one. Nah. We just don’t like being left out.

I hope you’ll follow me as I share travel tips and whatever else crosses my mind. And, if you’re a non-hunting companion too, say hi. We need to stick together.