Girls with guns

Lovey has this idea that his two little girlie-girls are going to grow up and be sharp-shooters.

(NICU picture, 12/27/2006: Mary-Gail, Left; Rebecca, Right)

When we were first married (eleven years ago Friday, Dec 10th!) I adamantly refused to let Lovey keep his two rifles in our one-bedroom apartment. When we bought a house the next year, Lovey kept his rifles in the cellar.

Then we moved to Charleston, SC, and his rifles were stored in the attic (the kind with the drop-down stairs {that was the coolest part about the attic}). I tried to sell his rifles at our "EVERYTHING IS $1" moving sale, but Lovey pulled them back inside. Shortly before we moved back to Utah, Lovey's brother gave him a new pistol.

Lovey took up shooting as a hobby nearly 4 1/2 years ago. He really became hooked with target shooting while I was pregnant and on bed-rest with Becca & Mary-Gail. Lovey said there was too much estrogen in the house, and he needed to feel like a "man." That year for his birthday he got a box of ammo. Very manly.

Now, he eats, breathes, dreams, and lives shooting - that is, when he's not working or playing with the girls. I don't know what happened to those two rifles he had when we got married, and I don't know how I allowed even one gun into my house. I think Lovey's idea of Becca & Mary-Gail being sharp-shooters might be realized. Even at 1 1/2 months old in the NICU, Becca & Mary-Gail already had their pictures taken with a gun in their hands.

(Sunday, 11/28/10: Becca & Mary-Gail, ready for church...almost)

Becca & Mary-Gail got these play guns for their birthday this past month, and I couldn't help my mind as it recalled a time 4 years ago to when Becca & Mary-Gail were struggling in the NICU. Lovey & I had had a conversation with our NICU nurses about guns and shooting. (One might think that type of conversation is not appropriate given the situation we were in. But, again, given the situation we were in we tried to talk about things that didn't pertain to surgery, wires, blood CO2 levels, tubes, milk residuals, weigh loss, etc). The next day when I came to the hospital to hold & feed my babies, the nurses had taken pictures of Becca & Mary-Gail holding a play gun (which, for reference, is only 12 inches long). Lovey & I laughed and laughed - a good laugh from what I can recall because shortly afterwards, Mary-Gail's health spiraled downwards again. (Ah, life in the NICU).

Now, 4 + years later, I don't argue about guns or shooting. And when Mary-Gail hollers at me down the hall, "MA, WHERE'S MY GUN?!" I don't have convulsions.