A year ago my little family and I made our first trip to Maine. My young son who has had a fascination with bows and arrows for the last three years couldn't help being in awe as we were visiting the L.L Bean headquarters in Freeport Maine. There, they have the nicest bow and arrow shooting range, the only problem is you have to be 12 years old. At the time little "O" was exactly 11 and a half years old. 6 whole months shy of being able to test a real bow and arrow.

When young son heard we would be visiting Maine again this year, my child with the memory of an elephant would not stop talking about testing a bow and arrow. 

Finally his dream came true and a wonderful man who saw the glimmer in my child's eye took the time to let him experience a real bow and arrow.

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First, we must figure out which eye is dominant.

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How one scopes out the target.

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Proper bow and arrow holding.

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Pulling back the bow with a gentle release.

 

Yes my little "O" is a real marksman. The joy on his face and the reality that a "real" bow is as wonderful as he thought it would be. He has since joined the archery team at school and continues to make his own bows and arrows. It is so fun to see a childhood passion blossom into something bigger. So here's to my little robin hood boy who dreamt and waited so long to have a go at a real bow and arrow. 

 


Comments

7 responses to “Robin Hood Boy”

  1. such lovely words- I love how you expressed that the gentleman saw a glimmer in your son’s eyes- that is such a great experience- as mothers I feel like the most we can do is often just facilitate a learning experience- we don’t always have the resources to take it that one step further- but when we make the plans and take them to the museum, gallery, preserve, archery place then all we can do is hope that someone will help us identify that spark and take it from there.

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  2. Those boys with their elephant memories!! Glad he got to have a go and that he found such a thoughtful teacher, great photos! xx

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  3. Our daughter LOVES them too. She makes her own, but got to try a real one this summer when I brought our whole troupe to a rod and gun club expo (really, not where you’d usually find me, but it seemed like a new experience to try—and it sure was full of lot of new experiences)! Glad your son got to try one out too!

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  4. Dearest sweet Val, such a beautiful post! This made me teary and i could just feel how excited and happy he musta felt to have one of his dream coming true. I am so happy for him! Thanks so much for sharing sweet Val, you are very inspiring! I am learning so much from you when it comes to taking care of the family. Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you!

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  5. What a kind man – my daughter had a go with a bow and arrow in Prague a couple of years back, at 4 feet 10 she was a tiny 15 year old girl up against grown men, but she managed to hit the target and got closer to the bull’s eye than her Dad! A memory she’ll treasure, I just wish we had such excellent photos as yours to record the day!

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  6. Exactly. At first the man said that the range was only for people interested in buying a bow and then he just saw something in that boy of mine and before you knew it we were taking bow and arrow lessons. It was so fun.

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