My husband, Sean, was helping me get ready for a work trip in which I needed my AR-15 in addition to my EDC (my SIG SAUER P365) … and my backup gun (my Springfield Armory XD-S). I had just found a “lost” long gun case and was happy to have another option for transporting my rifle. But before I could even try it out, Sean suggested I bring his AR-15 — his SIG SAUER 516 — since he had just made several hundred reloads. The 516 is extraordinarily reliable with just about any ammunition you feed it.
The Setting
Before I continue, let me give you a mental picture of the organized chaos. Along with getting clothes and toiletries ready to pack, I had been getting snack bags and lunches prepared for the kiddos for school. So we had a very interesting mixture of items in our kitchen. Besides the average, everyday kitchen things, like food, dishes, random papers and a host of utensils, Sean had also brought in some ammo cans, reloading materials, ammunition, and several empty and clear firearms.
The Characters
At some time during our discussing and packing, my oldest daughter came downstairs, ready to head to work. The grocery store where she is employed recently updated her uniform, so she was wearing a bright new polo shirt and a crisp black apron.
My son, who was playing a video game in the next room, must have overheard his dad and me commenting with some “oohs” and “ahhs” and maybe even a “Look at that!” and “How nice!” about the new look. Curious to see what the commotion was about, he wandered into the kitchen, surveyed the entire room and finally made a comment about what he found to be unique and unusual. His observation of the most out-of-place item in the kitchen (that he assumed we were focused on) sounded a bit like this: “Wow. So you have to wear an apron to work now, huh?”
The Comedy of Errors
I didn’t think much about the statement until my husband burst out laughing. Then he said to me, “Well, I guess you can say that our training works (and that our kids are used to their parents being responsibly armed adults) when the oddest thing our son can point out in the kitchen while we’re getting guns, ammo and gear ready … is an apron!”
The Moral of the Story
I have to admit: The whole situation was a bit funny. But Sean was absolutely right! Our children are all very accustomed to firearms being in our home. For them, guns are not weird. They are not scary. Firearms are not taboo. And they are not out of place. Firearms are a normal and necessary part of our lives.
And with that, our three children have been regularly trained — and repeatedly quizzed — on how to act around guns. We’ve had numerous conversations with them about protecting ourselves and the ones we love. They know the safety rules. They have been taught what to do and what not to do. And for them, the guns have become unoriginal, uninteresting and quite commonplace — so much so that the only thing that truly stuck out to my son as worth commenting on in our chaotic kitchen wasn’t a pile of brass, a stash of magazines or even an AR-15; it was part of my daughter’s new uniform!
