I intend to break with protocol in this post and talk a little about myself. No, not the unseemly stuff that Matthew does about his escapades with his children. Every time he does that I suspect that someone will call child protective services. Anyway….

Today I want to talk about my slightly strange hobby. My hobby is that I collect hobbies. Yup. I collect hobbies the way that other men collect coins, always on the lookout for the next new and shiny one. I suppose that examples are in order. A couple of years back, at 240 lbs and as sedentary as a couch potato could be. I had long been amazed by the annual coverage of the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Well, I was bored and I was looking for a new hobby. I announced to my wife and the rest of my family that intended to take up the sport of triathlon. This was greeted with a fair amount of skepticism and a few chuckles at my expense. My wife was a little concerned about the time commitment. “C’mon honey. How much time could it take?” Three years later I had completed over 30 triathlons, 5 marathons, and an Ironman triathlon.

I will say that that particular hobby was very expensive and very time consuming, I might have misjudged that one. After training for and completing the Ironman, wife lovely and patient wife asked if I could take a break from competing for a while. I did. Within a few months however I found my hobby itch gnawing at me again. At that time I had been a reader of several Catholic blogs. I found myself regularly arguing with one particular blogger in his combox that he took himself way too seriously. I told him repeatedly to lighten up and that he would reach many more people if he added a little humor to his approach. This was not to be. Finally, fed up with my constant jokes and jibes, he told me to get out of his combox and start my own blog. Well, I did.

Of course, when I began this particular hobby I informed my wary wife that she had nothing to fear from me starting a blog. “After all, how much time could it possibly take up?” Did I mention how lovely and patient my wife is?

So here we are two years and one half years into this hobby and it has been fun, annoying, frustrating, and time consuming. But mostly fun. Now, while I have no intention of quitting the blog any time soon, I have felt that old itch again. This time, for reasons too long to explain here, I have decided to take up the sport of bow hunting. No, I have never gone hunting before. No, up until a month ago I had never handled a bow. Details. When I told my wife what I was planning she got that look. You know that look. “Don’t worry,” I told her, “How much time could it possibly take?”

So I took a ten hour hunter’s safety class and a six hour bow hunting safety class and obtained my hunting license. I purchased a bow (a PSE stinger for those interested) and have been practicing for the past weeks. At 20 yards I can put eight of ten arrows within 3 inches of dead center. Not the greatest, but sufficient I think. I went scouting last week and obtained all the necessary permits for accessing State land. All told, I have put about 50 hours into this little project and I haven’t even gone hunting yet. That starts October first. Did I mention how lovely and patient my wife is?

Anyway, this is my hobby du jour and so far I find it very interesting. I will let you know in a few weeks if I still feel that way. After that, I think I might build a boat. I mean, how much time could it take?